A/N: And so ends one of my favorite stories I've ever written. I hope you've enjoyed this story, and I hope this final chapter makes you smile. Thank you so much for taking this journey with me, and for your wonderful reviews. I really do appreciate everything!

I don't own CSI.

Rule 5: No weddings

Only for Mary.

Only for her best friend would Sara stand in front of an altar, wearing a garish pink dress and clutching a fistful of wilting roses.

Sara hated weddings. She had only attended three in her lifetime. The first had been an aunt's wedding when she was five. She had been the flower girl. The idea of walking down the aisle had terrified her so much that she had refused to do it at the last possible second. She did, however, enjoy throwing her flower petals at the newlyweds as they ran out of the church.

The second had been the wedding of a family member of one of her foster parents when she was fifteen. She had hated every minute of it, feeling as though she was completely out of place and under observation. It was as though everyone was waiting for her to snap and show the true violent tendencies that she had inherited from her parents. In reality, all she wanted to do was to go home and read a chapter in her science book.

The third was her college roommate's wedding, in which she was the maid of honor. Sara knew that it was quite an honor to be given this title and to be asked to perform these duties. She was very willing to do it if it made Mary happy. But, that didn't stop her from hating the idea of marriage.

Marriage was an old and tired institution that had no redeeming qualities. She would never enter into it. Thank God Grissom agreed with her.

At least, she thought he did.

"So, you hate weddings?"

"How long have you been waiting to ask that?" Sara asked, toweling off her hair.

"I would have asked sooner, but you insisted upon jumping into the shower the moment you got here."

"You were half asleep," she said. "You needed the nap as much as I needed the shower."

"You really don't need much sleep, do you?" Grissom asked, watching as she ran a comb through her wet hair.

"Nope."

"So, back to my question …"

Sara sighed and put her comb down, turning to face him. "I don't hate weddings."

"That's not what Nick and Greg said."

"Well, Nick and Greg don't know what they're talking about."

"I don't know … the three of you spent an awful lot of time discussing weddings today."

"As I recall, it was sort of our job. We were trying to remember all the interviews and evidence that we lost from that wedding."

Grissom looked at her evenly. "You're dodging the question."

"Am I?"

He sighed. "Sara, please. Just tell me what your issue is here."

"I guess …" she trailed off and stared into space for a minute. "I guess I don't see the point. I never really saw a loving marriage. My parents certainly didn't give me much to aspire to."

"Rationalizing again."

"You asked a question and I'm answering it!" she exclaimed.

Grissom smiled and touched her cheek. "You oppose the sacrament of marriage?"

She raised an eyebrow. "I thought you weren't really a Catholic anymore? Are you still supposed to refer to it as a sacrament?"

He shrugged. "Old habits die hard. Answer the question."

"I don't … I don't really oppose marriage," she said slowly. "The idea of it just terrifies me. Other people can do it if it makes them happy, but it's not for me. Even when I was little, I never pictured my perfect wedding or white dress. I've never wanted to get married." She looked him straight in the eye. "There. Now you know."

"Sara …"

She looked at him questioningly.

"If you don't want to get married, I'm fine with that."

Her eyes widened in surprise. "But, you want to marry me?"

"I want to be with you for the rest of my life," he said simply. "If that means I want to marry you, then, yes, I do."

"I … I never knew that you wanted to get married."

He shrugged. "I agree with Nick, I guess. It's a public declaration of love … and, I do love you, Sara."

She smiled slightly. "So, you want us to get married? To stand at the front of a church, surrounded by our friends and family, vowing to love, honor and cherish?"

He looked at her closely. "It's not such a bad thing," he said quietly.

"I'm sorry," she whispered. "I've just never seen the point."

"The point is demonstrating our love. The point is vowing to stand together forever, no matter what. The point is sharing a life together." He paused and drew a deep breath. "But, if that's not what you want, then that's fine, too. We can be together without being married. We can share a life without a wedding."

"You're willing to do that for me?"

He shrugged. "I want to be with you, Sara. I'll do whatever it takes to have that."

She drew a shaky breath and leaned forward to kiss him. "I love you so much."

"I love you even more."

"Dr. Grissom?"

Grissom jumped up from his seat in the hospital waiting room. "Yes?"

"She's waking up."

Grissom ran after the nurse into Sara's room. She looked a wreck, with cuts and scrapes over every visible part of her body. Her face was as pale as the sheets beneath it, and dark black and blue circles framed her eyes. Even so, as she smiled up at him, he was sure that she was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen.

"Hey," she said softly.

He looked at her with tears slowly filling his eyes. He had nearly lost her.

"Griss?" she whispered.

"Sara," he breathed, sitting down and taking her hand in his.

"You found me," she said. "Thank you."

After all they had been through, after the frantic search, after thinking that he would never see her again, never see that smile light up her face again, never hear her voice again, there was only one thing he could say to her.

"Marry me?"

Those two simple words brought clarity to Sara's world. Suddenly, it all made sense. Everything he had said to her over a year ago about sharing a life, declaring their love, standing together … it was what she wanted with him. And, after all he had done to find her, how could she not want to make a public declaration of their love?

She looked into his teary blue eyes, realizing that he was holding his breath, waiting for her answer. With no small amount of difficulty, she lifted his hand to her lips, gently kissing his fingers.

"Okay."

His tears spilled over as he leaned down to kiss her lips.

Fin