"Sara!" Nick laughed as they chased each other on the Hawaiian beach. He quickly caught up with her, picked her up from behind and fell into the sand.

"Do you realize how clichéd this is?" Asked Sara as Nick rolled on top of her and kissed her hair.

"I don't care," He said. Sara pushed herself from underneath and looked at the sunset. Nick sat beside her as he spotted a lone tear travel down her cheek. A seagull flew overhead, and the wind brushed her hair on top of her face. He pushed it behind her ear and wiped her cheek.

"Hey, Sara, honey, what's wrong?" He asked.

"This is all too good," she said looking at the horizon. Nick put his arms around her as she leaned into him.

"'Ain't nothin' wrong with that," he said in a strong Texan accent. Sara smiled.

"It's just that, whenever something good happens to me, something ten times worse happens…" She trailed off.

"Like…?" asked Nick while stroking her arm. She stood up and stretched while Nick stood up behind her. She brushed the sand off of her body and walked quietly toward the cabin. Confused, Nick followed her as she walked inside.

"Sara?" He called.

"In the closet!" She answered. Nick put his hands through his hair. How was she so calm after just shedding tears?

"Come out quickly!" He said, "I can't wait!" Sara stepped out in a bathrobe wearing silk pajamas. She smiled and sat down beside him. He looked at her, and quickly flipped her over so he was on top of her. He brought his lips down and kissed her passionately.

"I love you Mr. Stokes," Sara said as he discarded her robe.

"Back at you Mrs. Stokes," Nick said as she pulled his shirt over his head.

Later that night, Nick turned to Sara and smiled while stroking her cheek. "Wow," said Sara. He laughed.

"Yeah…" He kissed her forehead, "Nothing bad is ever going to happen, no matter what, everything will turn out great," said Nick. Sara snuggled against his chest and kissed his neck. He put his arm around her and fell asleep.

-----

"Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" Asked Nick as he kissed Sara's neck eighteen years later.

"Are you thinking about our honeymoon?" She asked. Nick nodded and ran his fingers through her hair.

"I failed you," Nick said. Sara looked up at the ceiling.

"No, Nick, no you didn't," said Sara while kissing him.

"I let you get taken away from me!" Nick said with tears running down his cheeks. She put her hand on his cheek.

"No, you didn't. That creep managed to do that on his own. I love you, and you kept your word." She kissed his cheek, and then kissed his mouth repeatedly.

"I love you too," He said in-between kisses. It had been eight years since they had made love. It felt right to Nick, to feel her body pressed up against his. It was a glorious feeling actually, he loved it. He never felt stronger than when she was beside him. Therefore, he had been weak over the past eight years.

"Tell me," said Sara, "Did you ever date after I was gone?"

"Once," answered Nick.

"Oh really?" Sara laughed while kissing his shoulder.

"Warrick and Catherine set me up," he said.

"Who was it?" She asked.

"One of the many lab techs, her name was Meredith. Idiot really, she was so…stupid. I mean, before I went out with you, I would've been like: Hey here's a good catch. But the whole time I found myself thinking, If only I could have some decent conversation. With Catherine and Warrick 'excusing themselves' often, it wasn't good. We hugged at the end. I never saw her again," He smiled.

"So you didn't," said Sara.

"You know, you're amazing…" Nick said.

"Why?" Asked Sara.

"After I was buried alive, I wasn't remotely okay until we got married."

"And I'm fine with this whole thing…" Said Sara looking up at the ceiling once more. Nick sighed. He felt he had gone too far…it was too soon and he broke her happiness.

"Well, I'm not. But there's so much I can do with being traumatized and upset. He never raped me or did anything like that. He had a fetish for kidnapping children, so he kidnapped me so that I could 'help him' not get caught. I tried to get him caught, but he threatened me with killing Christina, Emily, and Alyssa! All I was, was his ticket through the law. He would've kidnapped you too…so yeah…" Sara looked down. "It's over now," she said.

"In that case," Said Nick rolling back on top of her.

"Time for another round?" She asked.

"Just what I was thinking Mrs. Stokes," said Nick.

----

They went down to breakfast hand-in-hand later on. They had the small travel bag packed, and Sara wore the clothes from the day before. Warrick and Greg both hugged her and they all talked and laughed some more. Sara was excited, at five o' clock she would be boarding a plane to Las Vegas. Her home. Greg and Warrick sat her down between them.

"Oh no, you don't sit by Nick. He got you last night! We want to talk to you!" He squeezed her hand. She kissed his cheek.

"I missed you guys so much!" She cried happily.

"We missed you too," Warrick said. She could swear that they were tears in the African American's eyes.

"Does everyone know that I'm coming yet?" Asked Sara.

"Um…no, not really," Greg smiled sheepishly. Sara smiled.

"So it's a surprise?" She asked.

"Yeah," Greg said.

"Oh my god, you guys get back, and I'll be sitting in the layout room with y'all…and then lets just see who notices!" Sara laughed. Nick nodded.

"Great idea!" He exclaimed.

"But first I want to see my kids," she said.

"Of course," said Warrick. They finished their breakfast,.

"So, we've got five hours to kill until we have to be at the airport," said Greg.

"I hear there's a killer aquarium near here. They have one of the only shark-rays in captivity in the world," said Nick, "And you can feed birds and pet different animals from the New England coastal reef!" Said Nick.

"Wow you know a lot about this place, don't you?" Asked Warrick.

"Alyssa wanted to go a couple years ago…" Nick sheepishly replied.

"Well, let's go!" Said Sara. They all nodded and had the time of their life. At four thirty, the Cincinnati Crime Lab took them to the airport. They took the plane and slept for the whole ride to Las Vegas.

As the plane landed, Sara recognized the familiar structures from so long ago. Her heart warmed up as she realized that she was finally coming home. As they landed, Sara's stomach bounced up and down. Would her kids like her? What would they think of her? Oh god, she thought, I do hope they like me. She turned to Nick who was splayed out and sleeping. He looked very content, and his face held the look of perfect happiness. He had everything he needed, his wife, and three beautiful kids. He described everything about them last night, she felt like she knew them. But she couldn't wait to put a voice to those faces and personality to the words. A large smile covered her face as the flight attendant's voice came over the P.A.

Nick woke up and wiped the drool off of his face. He looked over at Sara and grinned. He held her hand, and she smiled back at him.

"Are you ready?" He asked.

"I've been ready for eight years," said Sara. They both stood up and walked through the tunnel. Beads of sweat formed on her forehead. Warrick and Greg met them in the gate lounge and they made their way over to the front. Since they had no luggage, they walked to the garage and said goodbye to each other, knowing they would see each other in a couple of hours. Sara felt her stomach sink every mile they rode over to the house.

"Did you move?" She asked looking at how unfamiliar everything looked.

"No," said Nick, "There is just a lot more buildings," he smiled. He couldn't believe it had been a week since he stayed up all night telling Christina, Emily, and Alyssa about Sara. He grinned at the irony. A week ago he had no hope of Sara ever being found, and now she was sitting right beside him and looking out the window.

"You okay?" He asked.

"No," Sara admitted, "I'm nervous!" She exclaimed. Nick grabbed her hand as they pulled into the driveway.

"Well," he said, "We're here."

"Are the girls home?" She asked. Nick looked at the clock.

"Its six-thirty here," he said, "So yeah."

"Are you ready?" He asked. Sara nodded.

"Yes, I'm ready." He got out of the car, and so did she. They went into the house where Christina ran down to greet them.

"Dad, Kevin wants to—" She stopped when she saw Sara. She squealed and ran to her.

"Mom!" She cried. She hugged her. Sara wrapped her arms around her.

"Hey Chris, I'm home," said Sara. The other two girls came in with similar reactions. Alyssa was very excited.

"Yes!" She exclaimed, "Now you can come in for mother's day, and I can read you my poem!" She smiled. Sara was surprised, she thought people would be mad. She spent three hours describing her life, and getting to know her children. It was the greatest thing she had done in forever. The girls then went upstairs when Nick said he wanted to be alone with Sara.

"This is great," he said. Sara stepped up to him.

"Yeah, it is," she smiled. He turned on some music. It was Let it Be, by the Beatles.

"I have something for you," said Nick. He turned to a credenza and pulled out an envelope. He reached into the envelope and put something in his hand and walked to Sara. He quietly gave it to her. It was her wedding ring. She took it and put it on. Words escaped her as she was swept back into a world of romance and happiness. She had a family, and nobody was upset with her. She knew that there would be fights, of course there would be fights! But for now, everything was perfect and all was at peace with the world.

"Nick," she said.

"Don't say anything," he smiled as he took her waist and her hand. They rocked gently to the music. Meanwhile, the kids watched from up above.

"Mommy's back!" said Alyssa.

"I'm happy," said Emily.

"So am I," Said Christina. They went with Nick and Sara to the Crime Lab, Sara was going to surprise everyone. They wanted to see the expressions.

Sara and Nick made it to the crime lab earlier than everyone. Everyone sat in the layout room, and Sara sat in the discreet corner so that no one would really notice. She barely made a sound, and it was all that Nick, Warrick, and Greg could do to keep from laughing out loud. Grissom walked in, and the man who notices bugs did not notice Sara either. She smiled and waited.

"We're pretty slow today actually, everyone tonight seems to be taking a break from crime. This is good…so, Catherine, you finish up your case. Nick, Warrick and Greg, you wrap up the Cincinnati case, Catherine you have the details." Catherine turned and saw Sara. Sara put her finger up to her lips, and Catherine grinned back, she looked like it was taking a lot to keep her from jumping up and throwing her arms around her former colleague and friend. Grissom, not noticing anything, kept on talking, "Amelia, you finish up the solo." He stopped and looked up. "And Sara, you can….wait…." He stopped. Suddenly he broke out laughing. Everyone looked on in shock as he just kept on laughing. Amelia turned.

"Sara!" She exclaimed. She leapt up and hugged Sara. Grissom leaned over the desk. Everyone was slightly scared, this was uncharacteristic for Grissom. He rubbed his eyes and looked at her again.

"Sara, you're here!" He exclaimed. Sara stood up. Nick, Warrick, and Greg laughed to themselves. Christina, Emily, and Alyssa walked in.

"Don't worry Uncle Gil," said Alyssa, "you aren't crazy, Sara's really here!" Grissom wrapped his arms around Sara.

"I missed you so much!"

"What are we doing now?" Asked Nick. Grissom looked outside as Ecklie came in.

"I heard we're having a quiet night tonight. You guys can just take it off, don't worry, just keep your pager on," said Ecklie. They all went out to a restaurant. Sara grinned once more, she couldn't stop. Her life had turned completely around, and now she was really truly happy. Maybe everything that had happened in the past could finally be forgotten, and she could finally heal. They were all a family again.

Fin

Hey guys! Wow, that was fun. I had a great time writing this. I want to thank everyone who helped out with this. And I'm sorry that it took so long, believe me, that's how long I've been working on this. Non-stop. This is my literal, fourteenth attempt. I really like it. Check out my future Gilmore Girls story. And for now, this is over! I am crying right now. This is the most amazing journey I've had. I don't want it to be over! Bye, and once more, review!

Ooh, and little postscript, that aquarium is the Newport Aquarium! Everyone should visit! I volunteer there and I love it:) Bye:) I love you all:)