Side note, the original version of this chapter including all the song lyrics - which you might want to read that was as it might make more sense ;-) is at my website.

www. geocities. com/ pennsylvania (underscore) carebear/ OiaL5. html

you just have to put it all together (and put the actual symbol in place of "underscore") seeing as doesn't let you include links here ;-)

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Chapter 4
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Sunday June 25th, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada
North Star Lounge
11:25 p.m. (PST)

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"So we have a robbery at North Star Lounge that Dayshift just decided to leave for us or something?" Greg asked as he drove.

"I doubt they did it on purpose Greg," Grissom sighed as he glanced out the window.

"So Sara's due back tomorrow right?" Greg tried for a different topic, all of them eager to have her back.

"Yes," Grissom smiled for the first time that night.

"Cool, kinda a shock though, almost ten months without anything then suddenly BOOM, she's coming back. Wonder what she's been up to…"

"Especially seeing as we couldn't find her through all our looking over the last nine months," Nick spoke up from the back seat with a smile.

"Exactly," Greg chuckled as he pulled into the parking lot of the North Star Lounge. "Wonder if anyone's singing tonight that's worth anything…" he mused as they exited the car and gathered their gear.

"Well hopefully we'll have nice background noise instead of someone who can't sing worth their salt," Nick countered as they headed inside.

"ABBA," Greg grinned, "Did you know they made a musical based on the music a few years ago?"

"No kidding, it's playing here in Vegas," Nick rolled his eyes as the manager came over to talk to them.

:-:-:

"You know Sar, I love your mother," Jordan laughed as she returned to their table with a new round of drinks. "She comes to Vegas when she hears we're coming, and the first night she has a chance to see you since you were twelve, she offers to baby-sit so we can go out and have some time to ourselves," she continued as she handed Sara her Sprite.

"I know, very interesting isn't it?" Lily mused. "Though I'm a bit more surprised our Sara left her daughter with her mother to be honest."

"That makes two of us," Sara laughed, even she had been surprised at how easy she'd been able to leave her daughter with the woman she hadn't seen over half her life and had only been in contact with for eight months. Then again, she was a much different woman than she had been the last time she was in this city.

"Alright then, so we're at a karaoke bar, and have yet to sing, ladies, I think it's time," Jordan announced after a few minutes.

"You mean before the guys gets here next week and we have to sing in front of them right?" Lily asked with a smile

"Exactly. I've been there and done that with Woody, I'm not singing in front of all of them."

"Except for when you were in London of course," Sara teased as she rose and headed to grab one of the books with the options. Fifteen minutes later they were heading up to the stage for their chance to sing.

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"Holy Crap, you guys have to see this," Greg stopped them as he came back from the restroom when they were heading back to the car after gathering their evidence.

"Greg…" Grissom began.

"No, its Sara, she's walking on stage. And she's HOT!" Greg argued before turning and heading back towards the lounge. Grissom and Nick glanced at each other before following after him.

Sure enough, Sara was up on stage, accompanied by two other women. As the music of Abba's Dancing Queenbegan to play, the three men made their way inside.

One woman had curly dark hair that fell to mid-back, and was wearing black leather pants and a mauve lace shell top. As the first verse started, she walked a few steps ahead of Sara and the other woman to sing the first verse.

The other woman had blonde straight hair, ending at her shoulders, and was wearing a red denim skirt that ended just below her knees and a black tank top. She never took the lead while singing, instead staying back with Sara, and then Jordan as they did a little dance that seemed to be planned in its unity.

The real shocker was Sara, her hair was curly instead of straightened like she always wore it, a few inches longer than it was when she left. She was wearing a deep purple satin dress, spaghetti straps, that ended at her knees, with black ballet like slippers that had ribbons wrapping up her legs. As the second verse began she walked forward on the stage, closer to where the three men now stood and they could see all of her outfit.

Besides the surprising clothing choice, she had a good deal of jewelry on, a purple ribbon choker with an amethyst in the center, a long gold chain that had a cross resting under her breast - a cross with four black pearls, one at each end and an opal in the center. On her left hand there was a rope of black pearls wrapped around her wrist three times, and a gold ring they barely got a glimpse of on her hand – her left arm being the one not holding the mic, therefore it was the one moving more. On her right hand and arm, she had a silver ring on her ring finger and a silver link bracelet on her wrist, with a dozen or so different stones dangling from the bracelet.

Her verse done, Sara turned around once as her companions joined her, the three dancing and singing the chorus once more before striking a pose when it was done.

As the audience clapped, Sara glanced over at Jordan and Lily before all three started laughing. It was fun, but the fact that any of them did it was insane. And there was no way they were letting Nigel know it.

Then she saw them…

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After the applause died down, Sara, Jordan, and Lily went to make their way off-stage, only to find the three CSIs waiting for them…

"Sara?" Grissom spoke first before looking her over once more, then glancing at her companions. "What are you doing here?"

"Shouldn't that be obvious?" Jordan countered.

"Actually I was referring to the fact she wasn't due back in Vegas as far as I knew until next week Miss…"

"Cavanaugh, Jordan Cavanaugh," she answered immediately. "Shouldn't the better question be what the three of you are doing here since you do work the Graveyard shift?"

"Jordan…" Sara whispered shooting her a look that caused Jordan to sigh before stepping down. "Griss, Nick, Greg…" Sara nodded to them. "Good to see you. We arrived yesterday actually, and are just enjoying a night on the town. I'm sure the three of you have to get back to work so… if you'll excuse us," she continued before the three moved to go past them.

"I'm Nick Stokes, this is Greg Sanders and our boss Grissom," Nick spoke up quickly.

"Lily Lebowski, nice to meet you," Lily answered with a small smile. This was the last thing any of them expected for the night…

When none of the men moved, Sara sighed before glancing at Jordan and Lily. "Well, it would appear we aren't leaving the stage, so another song then?"

"Sounds good to me," Jordan nodded as Lily glanced between them in shock before following them up on the stage just the same, the audience quickly showing their appreciation for an encore. "And you know what, if we have to, we'll just stay here until they leave, or we're kicked off stage."

"You're joking…" Lily whispered back as Sara walked over to select the next song.

"You want to deal with Nigel when he finds out Sara got corned by that man?" Jordan countered glancing back at the three who still stood by the stairs. "Cause I don't."

"Ugh… alright," Lily agreed with a sigh as Sara joined them. "So what are we singing.

"More Abba, they have the Mamma Mia soundtrack that Anne Marie tortured me with. There are a few songs that I think are perfect for this…"

"Okay…" Lily answered releasing a deep breath as the music began. Sara taking the lead on One Of Us.

The entire time she sang, Sara's gaze never left Grissom, before the music changed as she requested. Of any song she ever heard in the last year, this one had been the one that sounded most like her relationship with the man not ten feet from her, Abba's The Winner Takes It All.

She saw Nick look away before glancing at Grissom, then Greg do the same. They knew what she was saying… they'd always known. She doubted anyone in the lab hadn't known of her feelings for the man she had once been willing to give everything up for.

He finally looked away, yes, she'd known about Lady Heather, the relationship however short it was. And all the other women he had dated, he could have even seen women after what happened that night and her leaving… She didn't care anymore though… let him feel guilty if he wished, it was to himself he had to answer now

He looked back at her finally, and she smiled slightly, more of a smirk perhaps…

She hadn't noticed the doors opening while she sang, Jordan and Lily had, and were going to tell her when she finished singing. But by then the man in charge of the karaoke machine had a new song request, and another Abba song began to play, I Do, I Do, I Do.

Sara quickly looked around, recognizing the voice, behind her Jordan and Lily shared a grin before taking over singing.

Sara mentally shook her head when she heard their prompting, before she finally spotted him in the back of the room, making his way towards the stage. Smiling she shook her head slightly, she didn't know what the hell he was doing here already, but at the moment she didn't care.

Nigel grinned back as he cleared the tables, and Lily and Jordan asked their question with a glance at each other and a laugh.

Sara paused, shaking her head once more as she looked down at him, he didn't have a microphone or anything, had just joined in…

Jordan and Lily shook their heads once more before taking up the song, catching Bug and Garret shaking their own head across the room, and looking over to see the three CSIs staring in shock at the scene before them.

Sara wasn't sure why the next song,I Have A Dreambegan, but she didn't question it either, the man had probably forgotten to stop the track… Regardless, she smiled as she reached out and Nigel grabbed her hand as she began to sing, he the only person in the room now to her.

Jordan and Lily smiled at how lost Sara was in Nigel, and he in her before picking up the chorus as Sara remained silent, simply staring at the man who they knew had taken the risk for her.

As Lily and Jordan trailed off, Sara picked up right on cue, shaking her head lightly when Nigel pulled her arm forward enough to drop a kiss on the back of her hand.

When she finally looked away from Nigel, she glanced over at the stairs to find the three men she had left behind still staring in shock, turning her attention back to Nigel, she knelt down to set the microphone on the stage before he reached up and easily lifted her to the floor so she wouldn't have to go walk by them.

As Jordan and Lily walked past the three, Jordan couldn't help looking up at Grissom and smirking. "Really screwed that one up didn't you Doctor, you blew the best thing that ever happened to you…"

No one saw it coming when Grissom stalked across the room and slugged Nigel…

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Sitting straight up in bed, Sara tried to catch her breath as she glanced around to make sure she hadn't woke up the others in the room. She was swearing off Abba music, it had been bad enough Grissom, Nick, and Greg had seen her singing Dancing Queen in real life… if they had actually lived through her bloody dream…

Shaking her head she carefully left the bed and made her way to the bathroom to wash her face. She was not looking forward to tonight.

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Monday June 26th, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada
LVPD Crime Lab
9:21 p.m. (PST)

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"Sara Sidle, I thought you were due back Monday,"

"It is Monday Gil," she countered gently when she realized he wasn't going to mention the night before, seeing the surprise in his eyes at the use of his first name. Moving into the room, she handed him her folder before sitting down as he looked at the manila file in his hands.

"What's this?" he asked with a frown as he read the papers. With his flipping through them all so fast, she wasn't sure which one he was talking about, and remained silent for him to continue. Then when the look of complete shock registered on his face, she realized what papers he had been talking about, and what papers he was now looking at.

"You're putting in your official notice, offering four weeks, and you're putting in for a lightened load due to medical restrictions? After you stayed gone an additional seven months?" he asked finally looking up to stare at her. "Good God Sara, I agreed to your LOA when we were already understaffed because you said you'd be coming back!"

Sara frowned at the accusation in his voice, "Actually, I said I might come back," she countered.

"What the hell happened over the last seven months?" he asked looking back to the folder.

"Quite a lot actually…" Sara sighed.

"This because of those women you were with last night?"

"Their names are Jordan Cavanaugh and Lily Lebowski, and no, they aren't responsible for this. They're friends of mine, and co-workers, who drove with me out here," Sara sighed. She should have expected much of this.

"Co-workers?" Grissom asked instead of commenting on the rest of the statement.

"Yes, I have a job with the Boston PD's Coroner's Office waiting for me. Jordan is the deputy Chief ME, and Lily is the ME's Grief Counselor. I work as a Criminalist and ME there."

"And they're just letting you go for a month?" he countered.

"Well not exactly, I'm on leave," Sara shrugged slightly, not wanting to go into the fact she was on maternity leave just yet. She preferred to have that conversation when they weren't at work.

"I see," he nodded once.

"There's something else," Sara began after a moment. "The reason I've requested medical restrictions… I'm pregnant… two-and-a-half months. I want you to know before the grapevine starts… I'm married Gil."

His eyes went from total shock, to intense sadness before he slipped behind his mask, "Congratulations."

"Thank you," Sara began, "Look, there's a lot to talk about… have breakfast with me after shift… please."

"I don't know…"

"Please Gil. There's stuff we need to get out in the open. To do with why I left. We can't work together with all of it unspoken."

"All right," he agreed reluctantly.

"Thank you," Sara nodded. "I'll let you get back to work and will see you in the break room," she continued before seeing his nod and she rose to quickly leave his office. She made her way to the Locker Room, finding an empty locker to leave her things in and slipped a lock on it before heading towards the roof for a bit of peace and quiet for a few minutes. Flipping open her phone, she hit speed dial.

"Hey you," Jordan answered on the first ring, "How's it going?"

"Not so sure yet, got the paperwork done and saw Grissom. He's not happy, but he knows I'm pregnant and married…"

"He agree to breakfast?"

"He didn't want to… how's my girl?"

"She's fine, sound asleep at the moment. Lil and I are watching another one of those cop shows, I swear they make it look like it's so easy."

Sara laughed as she learned back against the door. "I hear you, let me guess they have the criminal in the first fifteen minutes?"

"Twenty-one," Jordan laughed. "And the D.A.'s gotten all of his motions and objections. So unrealistic."

"Well, as much as I hate to end this, I should head down to the Break Room, they're probably waiting… enjoy the show."

"Will do," Jordan answered. "Take care of yourself and those two."

"Promise, see you by lunch time at the latest hopefully," Sara countered before hanging up. Taking a deep breath she made her way downstairs to the Break Room, not surprised to see Greg, Nick, Warrick, and Catherine waiting. She'd heard the team was reunited in an e-mail from Greg before she went off the radar, also heard that Sophia had gone to the other side. Was probably a detective by now…

Leaning on the doorjamb she watched for a moment as Catherine flipped through a magazine on the couch, the only one facing her, as Greg made a cup of coffee, Nick and Warrick on the same side of the table, their backs to her, talking.

"Is that the good stuff?" Sara asked finally, smiling as everyone looked towards the doorway.

"Sara," Catherine smiled, surprising to Sara's point of view, she was the first person up and across the room to her side… The first to give her a hug… "Welcome back."

"Thank you," Sara smiled as Catherine stepped back. Maybe time apart had been able to… if not heal, at least close old wounds.

"God girl, you look great," Warrick was the next by her side. "We've missed you around here," he continued with a grin. "Guess Greg and Nick weren't having a hallucination last night were they?"

"No," Sara chuckled as she glanced over at the two. "What were you guys doing at the North Star anyway?"

"B and E," Greg shrugged. "Now seeing you there actually made it worth while. Cath didn't believe us when we described your outfit though…"

"I didn't believe it and I saw it," Nick countered with a smile. "Rick's right Sar, you look good. Though you realize we are going to kill you right?"

"You can't kill me," Sara countered as she came into the room to be grabbed by first Nick, then Greg in hugs, Nick's a bear hug, Greg's a bit more leaving her with the need to breathe.

"And why's that?" Catherine asked with a smile as Sara sat down at the table.

"Coffee?" Greg began as he grabbed her cup that had been sitting in the cupboard waiting for her.

"No thanks," she answered before turning her attention to Catherine, only to find the other woman staring at her in shock. Glancing around she found the others looking at her with similar expressions. "Oh… don't panic I haven't been replaced by a clone or something," she began quickly. Then realized how much her husband would have been the first person to think that up and realized how much he was wearing off on her. "I can't drink coffee, too much caffeine."

"You realize that just made us even more curious and concerned right…" Catherine countered after a moment.

Sighing Sara thought back to why she was determined to let Grissom know these things before shift started, she had a feeling this would happen, and couldn't just not answer really… "Well, I can't have coffee because I'm pregnant," she answered after a beat, wondering if they were going to explode, or stare in shock after this…

"Oh my God!" Greg yelled. "No! It's wrong…. Now there's no chance," he continued with a puppy dog look.

"For you or the rest of those in this lab?" Catherine countered.

Shaking her head slightly, Sara knew that Catherine was including a certain member of the lab in that remark. She wasn't going to be the one to tell them what happened between her and Grissom… "Well, everyone is going to have to just accept it won't they," she asked with a smile to show there was no hard feelings prompting the statement.

"When are you due?" Catherine asked with a smile.

"January, though I suspect I'll be in labor sooner than that," Sara smiled softly, unconsciously laying a hand on her womb. "Twins."

"Congratulations girl," Warrick smiled as he sat next to her. "Not to pull an over-protective brother move or nothing, but…"

"No jumping to conclusions guys," Sara began quickly, sensing where this was going. "His name is Nigel, you'll get to meet him just in time for the fourth, he and two more of our co-workers are coming out for the holiday."

"You worked together while you were gone?" Greg asked as he flopped into another chair near her.

"Yes, he's a Criminalist with the Boston PD Coronor's Office. Dr. Nigel Townsend, and… we've been married six months," she added carefully.

"What!" Catherine exclaimed. "You didn't tell us you were getting married?"

"I was sort of out of the country…" she offered really not wanting to go into the real reason. "I'm not the only one who didn't tell you I got married until after the fact!"

"Oh nice try at deflection," Warrick chuckled. "Not going to work girl, I told them within a matter of days… you're six months behind."

"And what's this about 'out of the country'?" Nick asked.

"Nigel is British, we went back to London just after my birthday, were there until only a few months ago."

"So that's why the e-mails stopped," Greg nodded.

"But why were you in England so long?" Catherine asked before they heard a throat being cleared and turned to find Grissom in the doorway. Sara noticed that the others in the room immediately looked everywhere but at Grissom or her. Shaking her head lightly she smiled at him while he walked in the room.

Twenty minutes later, everyone had left for scenes, and she was doing paperwork while keeping an eye on the clock as the hours ticked down until her breakfast with Grissom.

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Tuesday June 27th, 2006
Las Vegas, Nevada
Local Park
8:15 a.m. (PST)

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Eight o'clock exactly, Grissom and Sara left the lab and headed over to pick up breakfast from the local diner, before Sara suggested since it was such a nice morning, they eat outside. In reality, she wanted to give him room to pace or anything really without fear of creating a scene in a restaurant. She ate more because she knew she had to for the babies than because she was hungry or even had an appetite.

"How long have you been married?" he asked first.

Glancing over at him Sara smiled softly, he was trying, it was a start. "Just over six-months. Christmas Eve," she answered as she cut her ham. Seeing the look he was giving to the meat she chuckled. "I started eating meat almost a year ago, today ham sounded particularly good."

"Of course."

"Gil…" she began before sighing and setting her food aside. Turning on the picnic table she watched him in silence for a moment before he looked at her. "I'll admit I don't understand why you did that… but I don't need to know anymore."

"I am sorry for leaving that morning Sara, I didn't handle all of that well… Now it would seem it's too late." He answered finally after a few minutes.

"I still care for you Gil, I always will. But I love Nigel, he took the risk…" she shrugged slightly. "We actually dated when I was in college, met again when I arrived in Boston. It wasn't like I just went and fell in love with the first guy after… what I wanted for us wasn't that superficial…"

He didn't answer, simply nodded once as he looked out across the park. After five minutes at least, he looked over at her. "Why tell me this? You don't owe me any explanations Sara…"

"Because there's something else you need to know," she explained softly. "I… I have a daughter Gil," she began, her practiced speech going out the window, and any thing she might have remembered disappearing when she saw the surprise on his face. "She's five-months-old."

"Five months… January…" he spoke and she watched as he did the math in his head before looking at her confused.

"We call her Rose, she was born two weeks early… I uh… I didn't know I was pregnant until October. I have a… unique medical condition. By the time I found out, I was in London… and was informed I couldn't fly until after I delivered… It…. it wasn't something I thought I should tell her father over the phone," she finished softly.

She watched in silence when he pushed himself off the table and walked away before stopping across the grass, a good fifteen feet away. Pulling her legs up, she sat with one arm around her knees, just watching him, and picking at her meal with her free hand along the way. Finally though, when she realized she had picked at her breakfast until it was gone, he turned and made his way back to the table, stopping a few feet in front of her, hands in his pockets as he watched her.

"What's her name? Besides Rose?" he asked after a moment.

"Gillian Rose, Gillian Rose Garnet Grissom is her full name," Sara smiled softly at the thought of her daughter across town. "She's got your eyes, Nige says she's got my lips but I don't know… she does have my hair color although her hair is more ringlet like than my curls ever were, I think she gets those from you…"

"Rose is my mother's name…" he whispered. "You gave her my last name?"

"She's your daughter Gil. Nigel may be my husband and her stepfather, but she is your daughter. Regardless of what tomorrow holds… I wouldn't deny her or you that," she shrugged lightly. "Before we talk anymore, I need to make something clear…" she continued, waiting to see him nod. "I'm not telling you this because I want something from you. I don't want money or anything like that," her hand went up to stop him when he started to speak. "I'm serious Gil, I don't want you thinking I'm here now because I am one of those women who come to men just for the money. I don't need it. The reason I'm here is simply because you are her father, and she's your daughter. She deserves to know you, and you deserve to know her. But I'm not going to make that choice for you, it's in your hands. Part of the reason I'm staying a month, to give you time to think about it… if you decide you want nothing to do with her, then I won't force you to be a part of her life. But if you do decide you want to be a part of her life, to know your daughter… we'll figure it out. I won't keep her from you."

Grissom nodded slowly when she was done before moving and sitting down next to her. "I'll be honest Sara… I never pictured myself with a child. I don't know if I can be a father… I don't know how…"

"I know the feeling," Sara smiled. "I never thought I could be a mom, times I still think I'm going to screw up, and I have two more on the way…" she shook her head. "You don't need to make a decision now Gil, but I wanted you to know as soon as possible so you had time to think about it."

"Thank you… for telling me, and giving me time," he smiled slightly. "Is she with your husband?"

"Actually no, she's here in Vegas," Sara replied honestly. "My mom came up for the weekend to see me again; I contacted her from London after I started therapy. She wanted to see me and watched Rose last night so the three of us could have a night out. She's gone back to California now, Jordan and Lily are taking care of her while I work."

He nodded once more, disappearing into thought for a moment before turning to look at her. "Can… Would you let me see her sometime?"

"Of course," Sara smiled reassuringly; he almost looked like a lost little boy when he asked that. "I'm pretty sure when the team finds out they're going to want to see her, if you want, before they do you can see her. And if you want, I won't tell them her last name initially… it's your place to tell them she's yours. Your terms okay?"

"Okay," Grissom smiled before looking back out to the horizon, a small smile playing at his lips. Smiling to herself, Sara sat back to watch as the park came alive.

Reader Responses:

Spikes-Storm - hey sweetheart,nice seeing you again :-) AndI'm glad to hear you love it :-)

Marie-Solie - Hey love, thanks for the review, although Nigel would wear eyeliner (and has) and is also goth. I admit this story may be a bit out of character (that's the joy of fanfiction) though I did try to keep it in character as much as possible. I'm sorry you don't like it though... Only thing I can suggest is don't read anymore because it's not going to change much in the theme and the way the characters act...

Daynaa - hey honey, lol you're going to have to share your CJ/CSI crossover :-). I'm glad you like mine though :-) (you get to see Las Vegas next chapter, well so to speak ;-) ) but I'm so glad you like it :-)

Transgenic-girl - hello darlin', lol I'm a GSR girl, but funny enough half of my CSI stories don't have them ending up together (weird I know). I can see Nick and Sara together though ;-) Mostly I'm just a Sara fan lol. But I'm happy you like the story :-) and I know, I was like hmm Sara and Nigel.. when the idea first popped into my head. But I love them together :-)

Samson - Glad to hear you like it love :-)

Please please review :-D