A/N Hey guys and gals. Right, I realised today that I haven't updated this in ALMOST A YEAR!! Yeah, that's right. A year. I never intended this story to drag on for quite so long, but for those of you who have remained patient (hopefully at least one person!) I would like to say thank you. So read, enjoy, and leave a review please! Thanks, and have a nice day. Oh yeah, and as it's been so long, if I've forgotten or messed up on a few details, my apologies. I'm only human after all!

A cool breeze blew in through the open window of Olivia Fisher's apartment. The stray hairs at the nape of her neck that had fallen from her ponytail were ruffled, and a shiver travelled down her spine. Turning to look around the room that she had just cleared, it really hit her – she was alone. The baby that she had longed to have for so many years, and that she finally managed to get pregnant with, was dead and it was all her fault. If only she had found out she was pregnant sooner so she didn't carry on exercising too much, if only she hadn't believed the doctor when he said the odd glass of wine now and again was safe, if only she hadn't had that sneaky cigarette...If only. She felt that feeling again, that one that told her she was about to break down into the most bone-shaking, angry tears that just wouldn't stop once they had started. A tear trickled down her cheek and got lost somewhere in the high collar of her polo shirt. 'Pull yourself together,' she said to herself, breaking the silence, 'You've managed without Katy for four years. You've only just got the courage up to get rid of the baby stuff – she wouldn't even be a baby now.' Olivia felt her heart sink again, imagining what her little girl would look like now. If only she hadn't died.

She shook the feeling off and went into the living room. Work started in a few minutes, and the guys at the diner thought she was strange enough as it was (especially after yesterday when she arrived still in her slippers), without seeing her come in sobbing uncontrollably. After picking up her bag from the sofa, she walked out of her front door and into the unseasonably overcast Las Vegas street. Past the Laundromat, where the old men in sweaty army jackets played the slot machines just inside the doorway, past the bar where she had drunk herself into a daze more than a couple of times over the last few years, past the park where she had planned to walk with her baby every day. She paused and ran her hands over the cold metal railings, watching the families just being together, happy. The jungle gym, the slides, the swings. And then she saw her...

"Olivia Fisher? LVPD!" Brass yelled through the door, not as a courtesy but more like a warning to get the heck out of the way, before kicking it down and bursting into the room. He saw her, almost in slow motion, leap out of her seat on the sofa and scuttle into the kitchen looking for a way out. She was trapped like a rat, no way out, and Brass smiled to himself. He had her, and now his friend Gil could finally move on with his life. His new life with his daughter.

Iris and Gil walked down the halls of the Las Vegas Police Department, past the room in which Olivia Fisher was being interrogated, and stopped at a vending machine. "You must be hungry," he said to her, "What would you like?"

"I'm fine thanks. Still full from breakfast." she grinned that grin that he remembered from so long ago, and he was immediately transported back to the last day he saw her. She had changed in so many ways, but in many others she looked just the same.

"You sure?" She nodded, and smiled to herself at his protectiveness. Olivia had been very protective, but this was the first time in her memory that she had ever had a dad to keep an eye on her. All her friends hated their fathers – they were overprotective, ruining encounters with potential boyfriends and being a little bit too much of a disciplinarian when it came to curfews.

"What's going to happen to her?" she asked, nodding towards the interrogation room. "She never hurt me or anything. She was just lonely, that's all."

"Honestly? I don't know. She'll definitely be arrested, but after that... She's probably got a good basis for an insanity plea."

Iris was quiet for a moment. Gil could tell she was thinking over what he had just said. Olivia had taken care of her for thirteen years, so there was a connection between them – he could understand why Iris didn't want anything bad to the woman who had been the only mother she had known for the majority of her life. "What about my mother? My real mother, I mean."

"I've called her. But I asked her not to come in until you've been questioned by the detectives."

"I'm kind of scared about seeing her. I don't remember her at all."

"Don't worry about that. You didn't remember me, but once you saw me it all clicked. Right?"

"Right. I just don't know what's going to happen."

Gil turned as he felt someone tapping on his shoulder. Brass smiled and pulled him to one side. He looked over the Iris, and then spoke in a hushed tone. "We're all done with the questioning for now. She's not exactly being cooperative." He lowered his voice a little more to add: "Do you want a go with her? I know it's against the rules, but I think the circumstances call for it." Gil wasn't sure what to make of that – he was touched at his colleague's gesture of kindness, done in a typical Jim Brass way, but was also swamped with a series of other emotions. Rage at the prospect of facing that monster, fear at what he might do to her, and a sick feeling that he thought was down to the relief that he knew was coming. The nightmare was almost over. But for it to really be over, he needed to know why. Why she took his baby, and why she had started harassing Maggie.

Gil turned the handle and went into the interrogation room, nodding in the direction of the police officer standing guard over Olivia. He sat down in the chair opposite her, and rested his arms on the cold steel table. He had felt a sudden rush of heat hit him as soon as he entered the room, which was intentionally lacking in air conditioning, and the metal was soothing against his skin. He hadn't looked at her yet, he was mentally preparing himself, but he could hear her breathing and drumming her nails on the arm of her chair.

"I thought y'all were done with me. When can I get outta here?"

He remained quiet, pretending to look through a case file that he had brought in with him. He was trying to think of something to say to her that would accurately convey to her exactly what he was feeling. Suddenly, the words started flowing, he was saying everything he wanted to say and couldn't stop himself. "My name is Gil Grissom, Miss Fisher, and I'm a criminalist. I'm also the father of the little girl you kidnapped thirteen years ago. You took my daughter from me, you ruined my life, and there is nothing I would like more than to see you rot in jail for the rest of your life. I'm a pacifist, normally, but I'm willing to make an exception in your case. Because you stole the most precious thing in my life." He was practically spitting the words out, and was amazed that it actually made him feel a little bit better.

She had been looking at her hands the whole time he was talking, but now he was done and his words hung in the air like a thick fog, she looked up at him. Their eyes met, hers piercing and blue. "I know how you feel, Mr Grissom. My own daughter died many years ago."

"Did you kill her?"

"How dare you! I would never, ever, do such a thing! My baby's death was a tragic accident, there was nothing anyone could do."

"Is that while you took Iris from me?"

"Her name is Katy..." she muttered quietly, looking at him with pity, as if he were the crazy one.

"No, it's not! Her name is Iris Margaret Grissom, and I am her father!" he yelled, standing up and banging his fists down on the table. She barely flinched, just kept staring up at him with those hard, cold eyes. "Maybe she was better off with me. You obviously have anger issues."

He really wanted to hit her now, but he kept his head. "Why did you start calling her mother? Why did you send the newspaper article?"

"I felt a bit guilty, I guess. I wanted you to know that I was taking care of her."

"Then why did you take her from us? Why didn't you just leave us alone?"

"I was just taking what I deserved. The Lord took my daughter, so I took somebody else's. It was only fair."

He had heard enough. He had what he needed from her, and if he never saw that woman again he would die a happy man. Leaving the room, he just let all of the emotions that had been building up over the course of the day wash over him, and felt tears run down his face. They were tears of relief, and as he leant back against the wall outside in the hall he gave in completely, feeling his whole body shake.

Iris lay down on one of the hard, uncomfortable rows of chairs in the waiting area of the Police Department, hoping to maybe catch a few minutes sleep while she waited for her dad. Her dad – it sounded so strange to her. She knew it would take a long time to get even halfway close to being a proper family with him and her mother, but just the thought of normality after everything that had happened today made her heart race. It would be impossible for her to sleep with all of these happy family thoughts racing around her mind.

She sat back up again when she saw her dad coming in to the room. He looked different somehow, but she couldn't put her finger on what it was. He seemed way more relaxed. He sat beside her, but not too close, and smiled. "Your mother is here. She really wants to see you."

"Oh God. I'm nervous, but I don't know why!"

"Don't worry. She's nice." It seemed like an odd thing for him to say, but she sensed him tense when he started talking about her. "Was she mad at you after...you know?"

"Yeah, she was. But it's not about me right now. She's here for you."

Iris followed him out into the hallway, where a woman was waiting at reception with her back to them. She was shifting from one foot to the other, obviously nervous. She heard their footsteps and turned round, with a look of both hope and worry on her face. Maggie looked at her, well aware that she was her daughter, and ran over. All three were quiet for a moment, just taking everything in, when Maggie spoke.

"Iris? It's mom. Do you remember me?"

The younger woman nodded, tears welling in her eyes. It was like no time had passed at all. She pulled her mother towards her, embracing her for the first time in thirteen years. Maggie began to cry now, kissing the top of her daughter's head, and held out an arm to Gil. "Join in." she told him, trying to include him in the moment. It had taken seconds for their lives to change that afternoon in the park, and even though they wouldn't ever be able to go back to the way they were, they had many more years together to be a family again.