Thank you everyone for your reviews, I'm so glad you're enjoying this. And for those who aren't reviewing, thank you for reading and I hope my story gives you a little bit of happiness.

We've had the reunion (x2), so let's move forward. What's next for our two love birds?

Please leave comments, I love hearing from you all! And, if you have any prompts or requests, let me know.

Chapter 6

It was a dream. It had to be a dream. Nothing he had thought of, had imagined, could compare to the feeling of this woman in his arms. She was a perfect fit. Her body, made for his. He could feel every inch of her. Her head on his neck. Her chest against his. Her stomach touching his own. Her thighs. Her hands. Her fingers.

He could smell her. Sweat and citrus and honey and Sara. He needed to look at her. To see her beautiful face. Her lovely eyes. Her sensuous mouth. As he pulled back, her hand tightened on his neck, holding him in place. Grissom huffed out a small laugh. His breath breezing over her hair, ruffling it as it passed.

Sara looked up. Tears were still falling, silently, down her face. Those big brown eyes, eyes that had hunted his dreams from the day he met her, landed on him. Taking in every aspect of his face.

"You're here," she said, almost on a whisper. As if she believed any noise might break the spell, might make him disappear once more.

Grissom cupped her face with one hand, his thumb brushing across her cheek. Wiping away the tears staining it.

"I'm here," he confirmed. "I'm sorry I took so long."

Sara closed her eyes, a small, sweet, smile forming on her lips. Grissom kissed her again, softly. Why did he ever let this woman go? He rested his forehead against hers, just marvelling at the face that he was really here. That she was really here.

"How long?" She asked, after a moment. "How long will you stay?"

She didn't know. Nobody had told her. He thought for sure Dr Osbourne would have told her. But apparently not. Maybe he didn't know of their history. Or didn't think about it.

"I'll stay," he said. "Until you send me away." He kept his voice soft, trying to rein in the emotions channelling through him. Grissom wanted nothing more than to take this woman up in his arm, in the tent beside them, and show her just how much he meant it. But he knew he needed to go slow. He needed to take his time and allow Sara to set the pace. After everything he had put her through, everything she had gone through, it was the least he could do.

"That would be a long time, Gil," she said, her voice small.

"That's what I'm counting on."

Sara opened her eyes, searching his and he let his mask fall. Allowing her to read everything he thought and felt. No more holding back. No more hiding away. He was hers, and he wanted her to know it.

"You left." She finally said.

"I left."

"You're not going back."

"Not unless you do," Grissom said. Heart overflowing with love for this woman. "Where you go, Sara Sidle, I will follow." He could see the awe written all over her face. Tears gathered once more, but they didn't fall.

"Why now?" Sara asked.

"Because I'm a fool," he said. "If I wasn't, I would have left the moment I first read your letter. I knew you needed time, space, so I convinced myself to let you go. But every day it got harder and harder to stay. I missed you, I wanted you, wanted to be with you, but I didn't know if that was best. When you came back, after Warrick." Grissom's voice hitched a bit, the pain of losing his friend, and Sara again, still hit him deeply.

"I thought," he continued. "I thought that, maybe we could go back. Not to how it was, I knew you couldn't come back to the lab, but maybe we could make it work in another way. I hoped we could, but I knew it couldn't, just as I knew I could never let you go. When you left, I tried to tell myself that it was for the best. That you could move on, be happy. And I thought, as long as you were happy, I would be happy." Grissom shook his head, smiling at his own foolishness.

"It wasn't until I received your email that I knew. I knew, if I didn't do something, it would truly be over. I would lose you, and it would be my fault. I wasn't ready for that, Sara." Grissom looked deep into her eyes. He could see the hurt he had caused, but also the understanding that only she could have for him. Sara knew him better than anyone. She understood him. "I made my decision, praying I wouldn't be too late."

Sara was speechless, her mouth gaping open slightly as he spoke. It was the most he had ever revealed, but Grissom knew, if he was to make it work this time, he had to make some changes. The first was to stop expecting Sara to push him away, when everything she had ever done or said proved otherwise.

"Please," Grissom pleaded. "Please tell me I'm not." Sara brought her hand round to cradle his cheek. Her fingers brushed away one of the tears that fell from his eye, and she kissed the other.

"You're not," she said, her breath tickling his cheek.

Grissom was full of amazement, of awe. This miraculous woman. This incredible, tenacious, stunning woman was more than he had ever hoped for. He could never understand her love for him, how, after everything she had gone through, she still forgave. Still dreamed. Still hoped.

This woman. She chose him, and Grissom vowed to be worthy of her.

They stood there for a while longer, neither willing to break the spell that had been cast over Sara's small clearing. It was only the sound of footsteps that broke then out of their enchantment.

"Sara, I was wondering…" A male voice sounded but halted at the sight of the embracing couple. Grissom recognised him instantly as Dr Osbourne, from the photo's he had sent of the team. "I'm sorry," Dr Osbourne said, eyes instantly flicking to Sara in query. "I didn't mean to interrupt."

Sara pulled away slightly to face her team's leader, but she didn't break contact with Grissom. Her arm still pressed against his and she smiled at the other man. A faint bluish creeping across her cheeks.

Dr Osbourne smiled at her, warmly, before turning to Grissom.

"You must be Dr Grissom," he said, holding out his hand. Grissom took it, and the two men shook.

"Yes, pleasure to meet you," Grissom replied.

"Well," Dr Osbourne continued, grinning at the slight look of shock on Sara face. "I'm glad you found us ok."

"I did, your coordinates were very precise." For the first time, Grissom wondered if the Doctor had purposefully given him coordinates to Sara's tent, rather than the main one.

"You knew he was coming?" Sara finally asked, her brows creasing in confusion. Dr Osbourne only nodded, his grin wider than ever. "And you didn't think to tell me?" Grissom couldn't tell if she was angry or amused. Maybe just a little exasperated.

Dr Osbourne shrugged, not at all repentant. "You'll have to take that up with Helen," he said. "It was her idea."

"Why doesn't that surprise me?" Sara shook her head and Grissom was surprised to see she was smiling, good-naturedly at the doctor. "You'll soon learn," she said, turning to Grissom. "That Helen Osbourne can give Catherine a run for her money when it comes to prying."

She was smiling at him. A true, radiant, joyful smile. No hint of pain or hurt. No underlying darkness. It was a smile he hadn't seen in almost two years and Grissom was blown away. He could only laugh.

"Well, Dr Grissom," Dr Osbourne said after a few seconds. "If you like, I'll introduce you to the team. Some of them are out collecting more sampled, but the majority are here."

"That sounds great," Grissom said. A half-truth. He did want to meet the people he would be working with, but he mainly wanted to be alone with Sara. "And please, Dr Osbourne, call me Gil, or Grissom. Nobody calls me 'Dr Grissom' unless I'm teaching, or in court."

Dr Osbourne laughed. "Fair enough, we're all pretty relaxed around here anyway. And it's Julian." Julian held out his arm. "Shall we? I'll introduce you around, then leave you to settle in. I'm sure you two have a lot to catch up on."

He gave Sara a quick wink, which caused her face to redden even further, before walking off. Grissom raised an eyebrow, but Sara only shook her head with a slight smile and walked off to follow Julian. Taking his hand as she did.