A/N: Thank you SO much to those of you who have taken the time to read and review this fic. I really appreciate it, and I hope that you all like this new chapter! And before you ask, I do not yet know how a certain situation will resolve itself! The jury is still out, so…if you choose to keep reading future chapters of this fic, I suppose we will all find out together!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the folks over at CBS. Also, the quote is from the opening passage of a Tale of Two Cities, by Charles Dickens.

Title: Grissom's Story

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Looking around the fire at the faces of his co-workers, Grissom sighed. "I wanted to thank all of you for sharing your fears with everyone," he quietly told them, making eye contact with each individual CSI, except for Sara, who still had her head buried against Nick's shoulder. "I know that it can be difficult to share such minute, personal details about ourselves, but… I truly believe that doing so makes us better human beings."

"I don't know about that, Gil," Catherine said with a small smile, looking over at him, "But it definitely helps to get things out in the open."

"Although the whole nervous sweating thing is a bit disgusting," Greg remarked, stopping for a moment to smell his armpits.

"Actually, I like getting to know all of you a little bit more," Nick shrugged, ignoring Greg's comment, and looking down at Sara. "I'm learning things about some of you that I never knew…" he trailed off.

Warrick raised his eyebrow at Nick, trying to hide his smile. "I agree with Nicky…I'm glad that I am having the opportunity to get to know all of you outside of work," he finally said. "It's about time.

"Gil? I believe it's your turn to go…" Catherine quietly spoke up, once again looking over at him.

Grissom stared at the ground, frowning. "It's only fair, right…?" he asked the group.

Greg chuckled. "Grissom's in the hot seat!" he said with a grin.

"Greg…?" Catherine warned.

"Sorry…" he muttered under his breath, popping another raw marshmallow into his mouth.

Grissom cleared his throat, before removing his glasses in order to rub the bridge of his nose. Slowly raising his gaze to look at his colleagues, he quietly said, "'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us…'"

"…Shakespeare?" Nick asked.

Grissom shook his head no. "Emerson…?" Warrick questioned.

Grissom again shook his head no. "Dr. Seuss?" Greg asked, grinning.

"Uh… no…" Grissom sighed. "It's—"

"Just kidding…" Greg interrupted. "It was Charles Dickens," he told everyone with a proud smile. "From a Tale of Two Cities."

"Very good, Greg," Grissom replied with a small smile.

"But… I don't understand how this relates to your greatest fear, Gil…" Catherine quietly said, looking over at her friend and supervisor.

"Simple," Grissom told her, shrugging. "It describes our team… and the unpredictability of our lives, and…" he trailed off, "My current mental state…"

Sara finally looked up at Grissom, confused. "I don't… understand…" she whispered.

"'It was the best of times, it was the worst of times…'" Grissom began. "When Nick got kidnapped," he quietly said, his words punctuated by the crackle of the fire, "It was the worst of times. I felt… ineffectual, incapable, out of control… not intelligent enough to stop what happened, from actually happening. I… looked around at all of you, and felt unsure of myself, and unsure of what to do… or to say. Sara, you were almost inconsolable. Warrick, you were ready to fly off of the handle at any moment. Catherine, your fear was palpable. Greg, you tried to hold it together, but… you were having a difficult time. And as for myself," he added, once again rubbing the bridge of his nose, "I felt… vulnerable. Nick, your kidnapping made me realize one thing…"

"What…?" Nick quietly asked.

"That at any moment, I can… lose any one of you. And I am desperately worried that I will be the cause of that happening…"

"But Grissom… if it's going to happen, it's going to happen…" Catherine pointed out.

Grissom just sighed, continuing. "'It was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness…' I am supposed to be the leader…the guy with all of the answers. I have the most seniority, and… it is my job to keep each and every one of you safe, so that you can return home to your families. I—"

"But Grissom," Greg interrupted. "No one knows everything…" he quietly said. "Except for Alex Trebeck, maybe…"

"Please, Greg, let me finish…" Grissom told him. "I am supposed to have enough wisdom to be able to save all of you, when in actuality, I myself still have so much to learn..."

"Like… what…?" Greg asked, once again ignoring the glare from Catherine.

"It's…alright, Catherine," Grissom quietly sighed, holding up one of his hands to stop her protestation. "Greg, you know how to relax and have fun. I do not. Warrick, you know how to balance your personal life with your work life. I do not. Nick, you know how to persevere against insurmountable odds. I do not. Catherine, you know how to speak with victims, and how to gain their trust. I do not. And Sara," he continued, "Well…" he trailed off, "You know…"

"Nothing…?" she supplied for him.

"No. You know how to give people multiple chances. I do not," he sighed.

Catherine raised an eyebrow, confused. What did that mean? Glancing over at Warrick, she shrugged, smiling, as he did the same. Nick continued to hold Sara, his thumb gently brushing against her arm.

Grissom took another deep breath, before continuing. "'It was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity…' This describes the last couple of years of our work lives… we started off working as a team, convinced that we were invincible. We solved crime after crime, without anything major really happening. I believed that things were okay… that nothing could go wrong. But then things started to change. I was almost fired, our team was split up, Nick, you were almost killed, and some of us went through our own personal crises. I went from believing that everything would be okay, to… feeling incredulous at what was taking place around me..."

Sara frowned, staring down at the ground. He's not even making any sense… personal crises? Who went through those? Oh…does he mean… me…? Sighing, she closed her eyes, trying to burrow into Nick's arms.

"'It was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair…'" Grissom quietly recited, his voice once again rising above the sizzle and pop of the fire. "I… am worried…" he told everyone. "Light and darkness… good and evil…right decisions and wrong decisions… I feel like I am constantly walking this fine line between the different dichotomies, and that at any moment, I will take a wrong step, and do something that will propel us all into a 'winter of despair.' Do you know how many decisions I have to make in one day…?" he asked everyone, looking around the fire at their puzzled faces. "What if… I do, or say, something, that inadvertently causes one of you to get hurt?" Or not say, in your case, Sara.

Nick sighed, raising his eyes to meet Grissom's gaze. "Grissom…" he started to say, before realizing that he didn't exactly know how to finish his sentence.

"You might be our supervisor, Grissom," Catherine carefully said, "But you are not solely responsible for our actions… or our safety."

"We all signed up for this job, knowing what might happen to us…" Greg added.

"I know…" Grissom sighed, staring at the ground. "But… it goes beyond that. The last part is more…personal in nature…'We had everything before us, we had nothing before us…' I… don't know how to share my thoughts and feelings…" Grissom slowly said, before swallowing, and looking up at Sara.

Sara opened her eyes, blinking. What did he just say? she asked herself.

Catherine followed Grissom's gaze to Sara, raising an eyebrow.

"What are you talking about, Grissom…?" Greg asked him, running a hand through his hair. "I don't… understand…"

"I had the chance to have… everything. I had… everything standing right in front of me, but my…stupidity, and my…inability to act… ripped it all away…" he answered, before looking down at the ground again.

Warrick coughed, clearing his throat. "Uh… Grissom…" he trailed off, not sure what to say. Glancing over at Nick, he rubbed his neck.

He didn't… he didn't just say what I think he just said, did he…? Is he…referring to...? Sara once again asked herself, starting to feel a little uncomfortable and confused.

He isn't… referring to… Sara, right…? Nick thought, glancing down at her in his arms. He doesn't… have feelings for her… does he…? Why… is he looking at her like that…?

"Grissom…" Catherine started to say.

"No, let me finish," Grissom replied, once again looking up at everyone. "Dickens aside, I am worried about not being able to express how much each and every one of you actually means to me, before… something happens. If something happens," he amended. "I am worried that one of you might be kidnapped, or get hurt, or even killed, and that I will not be able to stop it from happening. I am concerned that I might someday miss a clue at a crime scene, or that I might not be able to get through to a suspect, accidentally allowing someone who is detrimental to escape and come back to hurt one of you. I guess most importantly, however," he sighed, "is that I am… afraid that I will not have the chance to get to know you, or that I won't even know how to get to know you, if given the opportunity to do so…"

He definitely wasn't talking about me, right…? Sara again asked herself, still focusing on Grissom's previous statements. Because Grissom doesn't have feelings for me…he doesn't have feelings for anyone… I don't think… does he…?

"There's still time, Grissom," Nick told him, gently rubbing Sara's arm. "We're all still here, breathing… although…if Greg takes one more marshmallow, he won't be breathing for long…" he added, as he noticed Greg take another handful of the gooey treat.

"Hey!" Greg replied with a smile, shoving two of them into his mouth. "They're good!" he told everyone, grabbing a piece of chocolate and two graham crackers in order to compliment his marshmallows.

Catherine rolled her eyes, turning her attention back to Grissom. "I can… understand what you are feeling, Gil," she told him, "We all come to work every day, and put our lives on the line for one another. We all… periodically share meals with one another, and we all… care about what happens to one another. Even you," she added. "Gil… I know that you want to protect us, and I know that you fight for us every single day… although… you're a bit slow with the paperwork," she added with a teasing grin, raising an eyebrow at him.

"Sorry…" he quietly replied.

"But I know that when push comes to shove with Ecklie," she continued, "You are there for us."

"I know that, too, Gris," Warrick spoke up. "I respect you, man, and I'm glad that I work graveyard. Don't get me wrong, Cath," he added, turning to his former supervisor. "I loved working with you and Nick, but… I started to miss the camaraderie of nights. Greg's stupid jokes, Sara's insane thoroughness, and you, Grissom," he concluded.

"That goes triple for me," Greg jumped in. "I've wanted to make you proud of me for the longest time, Grissom," he said, shrugging his shoulders. "I know that you care about all of us… you love your job, and you put a lot of your effort into it, but a rare smile from you, or a 'job well done,' means a lot to me. And it wouldn't matter at all, if I thought that you disliked me…"

Grissom nodded, throwing a look in Sara's direction. She was the only one who still had yet to say something.

Sara, however, her eyes tightly shut, remained quiet. Why now…? Why in front of everyone…? she thought to herself, lost in her own world.

"Thank you for all of your comments…" Grissom finally said. "Listen, I don't know about all of you, but…I'm tired. How about we get some sleep…? Tomorrow will be a very busy day…" he quietly added.

"Why?" Greg asked. "What do you have planned for us?"

"Rappelling," Grissom told him, standing up.

"You're not… serious, right…?" Catherine quickly asked, looking up at him.

"When am I ever not serious, Catherine?" he asked with a smile. "So tomorrow we do a little rappelling, and—"

"And some swimming?" Greg hopefully asked.

"And some swimming," Grissom smiled. "And… some more talking."

Nick groaned. "About what…?" he hesitantly asked.

"Your hopes and dreams for the future," Grissom simply replied. "Alright. We have three tents. Who's bunking with whom…?" he asked, glancing around the fire.

"Sara and I are together," Catherine quickly said, walking to the larger of the three tents. With a sigh, Sara stood up, following her.

Grissom headed over to the middle tent, walking in.

"Rock, paper, scissors?" Greg suggested to Nick and Warrick, grinning.

"No, Greggo," Nick replied with a smile. "He snores. You're the newest. You're sharing a tent with Grissom. Good night!" he added, slapping the younger CSI on the back.

"Hey! That's not fair!" Greg told him. "Come on…pick a number? Draw straws?"

"Goodnight, Greg," Warrick grinned, following Nick to the tent on the end.

With a sigh, Greg grabbed a sleeping bag, turning in for the night.

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TO BE CONTINUED 