A/N: First of all, I hope that this chapter appears… nine and ten keep disappearing for some reason! And second of all, as always, thank you for taking the time to read and review this fic! Reviews of any kind make my day!

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Disclaimer: I do not own any part of CSI or its characters. That honor goes to the good folks over at CBS.

Title: Hopes and Dreams

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"Was that really necessary?" Greg asked everyone, trying to squeeze the excess water out of his shirt. "Because I don't think that I actually deserved that!" he grumbled.

"Hey, man, I warned you!" Warrick grinned, following behind him.

"And yes, that was definitely necessary," Catherine added, tying back her now soaking wet hair. "You started it, Greg…" she told him.

"What did I do?" he asked, trying to hide his smile.

"Uh… you splashed Catherine with water," Grissom reminded him, trying to smooth out his sopping wet shirt.

"Who jumped up at the cold water hitting her, and dumped the entire rowboat into the lake," Nick added, running a hand through his wet hair.

Sara, bringing up the rear, just frowned.

"And because of a little splash," Greg asked, sitting down in front of the fire, "You all had to dunk me?"

"Pretty much, Greggo," Nick grinned, taking a seat next to him.

"You betcha," Warrick replied, joining them around the fire pit.

Catherine laughed, sitting down next to Nick. "You should have seen your expression, Greg," she smiled.

"You should have seen your own expression, Catherine," Grissom told her, grabbing some dry wood from the wood pile, and setting it in the fire pit.

"It was kind of funny, Catherine…" Sara offered with a small smile, sitting down next to her.

"Uh-huh," Greg grinned. "Well this officially ends 'pick-on Greg day!'"

"Actually," Warrick told him, checking his watch. "It's 4:00 pm now, so we still have another eight hours to go…"

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"Grissom…?" Sara quietly asked, staring into the now blazing light of the fire. "Do we have anything other than hot dogs for dinner…?"

"Of course," Grissom told her with a small smile. "I got you some veggie hot dogs…"

"Oh… thanks…" she replied, watching Greg spear a hot dog, holding it over the fire.

"Do you… want me to get you one…?" Grissom tentatively asked, looking over at her.

"No, I'm okay, thank you," she replied, slowly standing up, and moving over to the cooler to grab herself a veggie dog.

"Hey…" Catherine greeted her, stepping aside so that Sara could grab what she needed.

"Hi…" Sara replied.

"So another big day, eh…?"

"Uh-huh… I… thought that I was going to die…" Sara quietly said, reaching into the cooler, and grabbing the package of veggie dogs.

"I know," Catherine told her, pulling a couple of diet cokes out of the cooler. "You were definitely scared…I don't think I've ever actually seen you that scared before…" she trailed off.

"Yeah…" Sara mumbled. "I'm not sure why I froze like that… I guess… I have a small fear of heights," she sighed.

"Well, lucky for you," Catherine smiled, "we're done with mountain climbing… tomorrow is just a swim and have fun day."

Sara gave her a small smile, removing one of the veggie dogs from the package. "Good. I think I could use a day just to relax," she commented, as she rejoined the rest of the group by the fire, inwardly feeling a little bit uncomfortable with the fact that Grissom was sitting right next to her.

"How do you know when these hot dogs are done…?" Greg asked Nick, who was holding his hot dog in the middle of the flame.

"I don't know, Greggo," he shrugged. "I was just going to wait until it was crispy, and then go from there…"

"No clue," Warrick added, when Greg turned to look at him. "I was actually going to do the same thing."

Catherine rolled her eyes at Greg, Nick, and Warrick, smiling. "Hot dogs are a pre-cooked food, gentlemen," she informed them all. "Just wait until it looks hot enough, and you'll be fine," she added, sitting down beside Sara. "I would assume that it is the same thing for a veggie dog, but I honestly don't know," Catherine told her, spearing her hot dog, and holding it over the flame while it roasted.

"So…" Grissom cleared his throat. "I figured that we would do some more talking, while our hot dogs roasted…"

"Do we… have to…?" Greg asked, looking up at his supervisor. "I ran out of deodorant, and… like I said, sharing makes me sweat."

"A little too much information, Greg," Catherine sighed, staring at the ground. "But thanks for that."

Warrick laughed, looking over at Greg.

"No one has to share," Grissom again spoke up. "But… I thought that I would still pose my question."

"What is it, Grissom…?" Nick asked.

"We've talked about your greatest fears… now I think we should talk about your hopes and dreams for the future. Although I am interested in your goals as they pertain to work, I am more interested in hearing about your personal hopes and dreams.

Warrick sighed. "I think that that might actually be more difficult to answer than the greatest fears question, Gris," he admitted, rubbing the back of his neck.

Catherine frowned. "I would agree…" she trailed off, trying to think of something. "I guess I've never really thought about it before," she added.

"Me, either," Greg mused.

"My dream is to someday have a normal life…" Sara spoke up from her seat, in between Catherine and Grissom.

Nick raised an eyebrow, staring down at the ground. "My dream is to somehow find happiness and acceptance somewhere…"

"I want Lindsey to be a well-adjusted young lady…" Catherine added, meeting the gazes of her colleagues.

"I wouldn't mind owning my own luxury coffee shop someday," Greg threw out there, once again staring into the fire.

Warrick grinned, trying to hold back a laugh.

"What…?" Greg asked. "I was being serious!"

"I can definitely see you owning a coffee shop, man," Warrick replied, slapping him on the back. "And as for me, I just want to find contentment in my life."

Sighing, Grissom looked up at the group. "I…want…. I don't know," he again sighed. "I need more time to think about it, I guess…."

"Hey!" Greg sputtered. "Not fair!"

"No one has to share, Greg," Catherine reminded him.

"I know, but…" he trailed off. "I know. You're right."

"I… think that the hot dogs are done, everyone…" Grissom quietly said, standing up to find the package of buns. "So… let's eat up… we have another busy day ahead of us…"

"Swimming, right?" Greg asked.

Grissom gave Greg a small nod, before digging into his hot dog.

What are his hopes and dreams? Sara asked herself. Why couldn't he share them…?

Does he honestly not know what his hopes and dreams are…? Nick questioned himself. Or is he just too shy to share them aloud…?

Man, this hot dog is good! Greg smiled, chuckling to himself.

Why is Greg smiling…and laughing? Warrick asked himself. Shaking his head, he grinned. On second thought, I really don't want to know!

It's too quiet out here… I miss the city! Catherine thought with a sigh. And Lindsey...

Grissom stared at the fire, lost in thought. Love. I want to find love.

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Later that night, by the campfire

"No! Absolutely not!" Greg mumbled, staring at Nick and Warrick. "You can't make me, guys!" he told them, trying not to whine.

"Sorry, Greggo," Nick grinned. "Seniority wins out… have a nice night!" he added, as he walked into his tent.

Following Nick, Warrick tried not to laugh. "Goodnight, Greg!"

"Boys…" Catherine muttered to herself, walking into the tent that she shared with Sara.

"Sara…" Grissom quietly said, stopping her dead in her tracks.

"…Yes…?"

"Tomorrow… I would like to speak with you… alone…if that's okay…?" he asked, nervously rubbing his beard.

"…Okay…" Sara hesitantly told him, before climbing into her tent for the night.

With a sigh, Grissom walked into his tent.

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Later that night

"GRISSOM!" Greg shouted.

"GREG!" Warrick, Nick, and Catherine all shouted together.

Sara was sound asleep, oblivious to everyone else around her.

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TO BE CONTINUED 