AN: As I publish my last remaining chapters let me remind you of an old proverb: "Things aren't always as they seem." Thanks to everyone for their support with this fic. You're reviews helped more than you can imagine. Sometimes encouragement does wonders! Another thanks to Unspoken, who betaed quickly and accurately!

"Broken Butterflies"

Chapter 11

Magenta Skies

Grissom, now found himself no longer within the confines of the forest or the cabin. He was now on someone's lawn, unable to move. The pain was too much. How did he become injured? He didn't even remember leaving the cabin. Could he have had a blackout?

His head hurt more than anything, and he began to worry if he had sustained another head injury.

"That would account for the blackouts and hearing voices." Grissom thought, as he tried with all his strength to get up. The lawn looked familiar to him, as his vision started to clear up. As the fence guarding the home became clear, Grissom tried his hardest to not panic.

"How the hell did I get to Sara's home?" Grissom wondered aloud, as he forced himself to think as objectively as possible. It had to be another head injury, somehow he had gotten there, and he wanted to know how. As he struggled to remember, Sara walked down the street, at first unaware of the wounded Grissom lying outside her home. As she drew closer, her eyes grew wide as she stood in shock at the man before her.

At first she wanted to scream, then run…Or maybe call the police. But as she looked the man over closer, she realized he was in no position to hurt her.

Before she could take out her cell phone and dial the paramedics, Grissom's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"Please don't!" Grissom begged.

"You don't want medical attention?" Sara asked confused and still a little worried. She remained as far away as possible. Her previous encounters with Grissom all had started and ended horribly. She still harbored a great deal of fear for the man, she had once admired in University. Somehow though, despite all of her logical objections, deep down she felt something for him. She couldn't explain her feelings; it was as if she knew him.

"I think the police are looking for me. I know you have no right to listen to what I have to say, after all that has happened, but can you at least do this one thing? I am sorry for any harm I have caused you and your family…I just have been going through some rough changes and…I…" The pain in his head resumed once more. This time it was too great to keep inside and he let out a scream.

Sara instinctively knelt down beside Grissom and checked his pulse. The closeness of her action only sent his heart rate over the edge, missing a few beats along the way. They both stared at each other for what seemed to have been hours until Sara broke their gaze.

"I should really call the paramedics. I'm not a doctor; I don't know what to do." Sara looked into Grissom's eyes once more where she felt a familiarity and a sense of belonging once more.

"Please, could I just stay in your backyard until I'm able to walk? I promise I won't do anything…I…"

"The backyard?" Sara's eyes bulged once more at the thought of it.

"Please, I have no where else to go. I know you would love to let me suffer more than anything right now. But please let me get better, and then you can turn me in if you want." Grissom looked down at the blood before him and tried to remain calm, as he noticed it was bright shade of magenta.

"I don't want you to suffer."

It was the truth; she did not want to see anyone suffer in pain. She got into Criminalistics to help others, not gloat when she observed an individual in pain.

The comment left Grissom with some hope, as Sara helped him off of the ground. He tried to suppress his smile as he inhaled her scent. She smelled of mandarin oranges and green tea, an interesting combination. It was one scent however, he could never get enough off- it was hers.

Somehow despite all of Sara's negativity towards Grissom, she felt a bond of trust. The feeling was not in her earlier.

As the couple limped their way slowly towards the entrance, Grissom couldn't help but worry.

"Don't get me wrong, I thank you for your help, but won't your husband be less than thrilled at my presence." Grissom hoarsely asked, trying to grit his teeth from the pain in his leg.

Sara opened the door and let it creek for a bit, before answering.

"My husband and my son are out of town."

Her response was simple, but seemed out of character. Less than a month ago seemed terrified by his presence, and now she appeared to be the opposite.

"Maybe she's remembering me…" Grissom thought as Sara guided him over to a white leather sofa in the living room.

Grissom immediately felt relaxed as he looked around the room. The blue hues resonating off of the paint on the walls, made him feel as if he were at the beach. Colorful, dried butterflies hung on display around the room, which made Grissom's heart lurch. A memory from when they were dating flashed into Grissom's mind.

Grissom handed Sara a wrapped box, with a simple ribbon encasing its exterior.

Sara felt immediately confused.

"What's the occasion?" She wondered aloud, and was perplexed by Grissom's loving expression.

"It's our one month anniversary." He stated aloud.

A simple smirk appeared on Sara's lips. As she stared into his eyes, he couldn't help but blush.

Was he over doing it?

"Griss- I can't believe I'm the one who forgot! It's usually the boyfriend who forgets about all the important days… I'm actually feeling pretty bad for not getting you anything." Sara continued to hold the box waiting for approval to open it.

"I'm sure you'll make it up to me later." Grissom allowed the statement with a great amount of subtext, to linger in the air, before motioning Sara to open her gift.

Sara looked as if she were a child on Christmas morning, as her smile grew wider with every step closer to her surprise.

When she finished opening the box and took her present out of its packaging, her eyes grew wide.

A beautiful monarch butterfly enclosed in a glass box, lay before her in all its natural beauty. It was a gift that was truly Grissom.

"Grissom! It's beautiful." Sara smiled, as she took the insect out of the wrapping and placed it on the table beside her. There was one thing her apartment did not have: a monarch butterfly.

"I thought after each mile stone in our relationship I could give you a butterfly. When I was a child my mother told me that butterflies originated from fairies, who brought love to anyone they came into contact with. Therefore, because of that fable, I thought I could express my love to you in such a context." Grissom was rewarded with a single tear falling down Sara's cheek and a long lingering kiss that he never wanted to end.

Grissom was brought back to reality, with the sound of a crash. One of Sara's butterfly specimens fell to the ground and shattered into hundreds of pieces.

"Oh my god!" Sara ran over to the shards of glass and the wounded dried up insect; she seemed dismal by the accident.

Grissom remained confused. It just fell by itself, without a presence disturbing its balance.

"Max gave this one to me during our first date." Sara wiped a tear from her eye and began to laugh. "I guess it seems pretty silly for me to be crying about a destroyed butterfly huh?" Sara cleaned up the mess, as Grissom sat stunned and heart broken on top of the couch.

"She has to be mixed up... This can't be happening." Grissom thought, as he felt his heart rate double.

Sara's voice made him jump.

"Are you alright? You're starting to look worse." Sara walked over to Grissom and felt his forehead. The sudden contact this time made Grissom draw away.

"Please don't touch me; it will only make things worse." Reality was starting to hit him at a steady rate.

She doesn't remember him. He must really be crazy.

What did he do to Catherine?

Did he seriously injure a doctor?

He did everything to get to this point, and now it seemed ridiculous and hopeless.

"What do you mean?" Sara asked, looking even more worried when she first saw him bleeding on the ground.

"There's a lot you don't know about me." Grissom sighed, as his head shook with the prospect of leading an abnormal life.

"Please explain." Sara asked, as she sat at his feet and seemed genuinely concerned.

How can she be so nice after everything he has done? After the way he has acted?

Something wasn't right.

"I have memories about you that we both don't share. I remember working with you in Vegas at the crime lab. I remember us…You asked me out and I refused. It was a stupid decision on my part. Eventually we started our relationship, a move I would never regret. The last time I saw you I was going to propose to you, but we got into a fight…And then we were in a car accident." Grissom watched Sara's expression grow even more confused as he continued. "I wasn't wearing my seatbelt, but you were. I supposedly flew through the windshield and landed on my head After that nothing was the same..." Grissom felt helpless as a lonely tear meandered down his cheek. He was hoping that his memories would shed some light on his situation.

If only she shared at least one memory of his…

"Did you experience any head injuries? Is that why you have all of these memories which aren't real?" Sara wondered and started to grow compassionate for Grissom's situation. Now she could understand his state of mind and why he had been acting so irrationally.

"The doctors said I was experiencing False Memory Syndrome, my mind had jumbled up fact and fiction. But the memories I do have of us seem so real. I have never been in love… Until I met you." Grissom looked into Sara's eyes and was surprised to not find fear.

"I feel so bad now that I didn't know what you were going through. You know, I had a major crush on you in University. Every lecture you gave, I wanted to ask you out for dinner." Sara blushed as she gently took Grissom's hand to calm him down.

"Did you?" Grissom wondered curiously.

"No. I thought you would just think I was too young." Sara giggled as she looked into his eyes once more. "I'm sorry by the way."

The statement took him off guard.

"Honey, what could you be sorry for?" Grissom felt his cheeks grow red as he realized what had slipped from his tongue. To his surprise Sara did not object to his blunder.

"I'm sorry, I don't share your memories." Sara admitted, as she felt her stomach turn over in response to Grissom's smile.

Without thinking, Grissom leaned forward and drew Sara closer to him. They both seemed frozen in time, as they admired each other within an inch of contact.

Sara didn't know what she was doing; she just seemed hypnotized by his eyes and the sheer scent that made up Grissom. Even though she shared none of the memories he held to his heart, she felt as if they belonged together.

Sara was the first one to make a move; Grissom was too scared to attempt contact. As soon as their lips met, an unknown passion erupted within Sara. She allowed his tongue to brush hers and moaned every time he ventured deeper within her mouth. His hands went up her shirt, as he craved for more contact to make him self believe it was real.

No matter what he did, he would still feel as if he were caught in a hallucination. However, Grissom knew that the sheer reality of the situation was too real to be a dream.

Sara removed her shirt and allowed Grissom to lick every inch of her chest. She was paralyzed in his grasp, as she allowed him to take her, including her soul.

As they made love, Grissom noticed that his wounds had suddenly healed. He no longer bore any cuts, he had mysteriously endured before. Was his mind still giving out? He shunned any negative thoughts from his mind, as he continued to make Sara moan in ecstasy as their bodies moved as one.

He could only prey that his life would stay this content as he kissed Sara's forehead.

"I should have taken you up on that dinner offer a long time ago." Sara smiled, as she felt her heart rate slowly return to normal.

Grissom could only smirk in response.

"I would have probably said something absurd like 'I don't know what to do about this.'" Grissom shook the memory, which most likely was fiction from his mind, as he felt his head grow light from sleepiness.

Sara's eyes had already begun to close, as they both succumbed to slumber.