A/N - I'm going to Wellington for a week and I wanted you guys to have the final chapter before I leave. I hope that it ties all the ends in a neat little bow, if not, you know the drill. Reveiw and tell me what you think!

Chapter Six – No Ordinary Love

Grissom watched Sara as she slept soundly on the sofa, her injured arm over her chest. In a way, Grissom knew the Ecklie was right. He did pull out all the stops when it came to Sara. She had become central in his life and he had no idea when it had happened. Maybe after the lab explosion, maybe it was after Nick got kidnapped and he realized just how important his team was to him. He knew that he had been protective of her but he was the same with the rest of the team too. He just had no idea when Sara had become one that he had placed above all others. He also knew that he was as much to blame for this situation that she was. If he had stuck to his guns and made her stay outside the case, then she would have not been hurt and he would still be working the case. Instead they were both out of the loop.

"Why are you watching me sleep?"

Sara opened one eye to look at Grissom, her face pulled in to a smile.

"I'm not. You just happened to be there when I started thinking"

"Oh. What were you thinking about?"

"Work, what else?"

"You need to relax Grissom. Work is going to be there when you get back"

"It might not be you know. This is not the first time that I have pushed Ecklie too far. If I lose this job that will be it."

Sara sat up a little more on the sofa.

"Don't be silly Grissom. You lose this job and you can pick another one up in not time.

"Sara, you do understand that all of this will have to stop at some point, don't you? Eventually I'm going to stop working and then what?"

"Then you'll teach another generation to do your job."

"It's not that easy Sara. You have more of a life then I do and without this job, I'm nothing. But you don't see that do you? All you see is the rebellion against Ecklie and Elizabeth's killer. There is more to this then just those two things."

Sara moved off the sofa entirely this time, coming to stand in front of him.

"You know what Grissom? You are a self righteous bastard."

Sara stormed out of the room and into her own, slamming the door behind her. Grissom stayed where he was, almost as if he was locked into his seat. He could do nothing; right at that moment he realized that Sara was right. It was he who was losing sight of what was important, not her.

When he arrived at Catherine's house, he was so tired. He knocked on her door with a heavy hand and waited for her to answer. When she did, she was dressed in track pants and a tank top, her hair mussed. She said nothing just opened the door wider to allow him entry. It was only when he was sitting on the sofa that she began to speak.

"Why are you here?"

"I'm lost"

"What on earth do you mean?"

"I mean I had a fight with Sara and I realized something. I'm lost. I have no idea what to do"

"How about I make you a coffee and we'll take it from there?"

"Please"

Catherine disappeared into the kitchen and Grissom could hear the clattering of cups and the kettle slowly brought to the boil. He waited, trying to not get lost in her own thoughts before her return.

"Here we go. Now start from the beginning"

Grissom did just that, leaving nothing out. He didn't need to, not with Catherine. She sat beside him, her face expressionless as she allowed him to speak, reserving judgment until he was ready.

"I'm lost Catherine. The case is slipping away from me"

"Then you have to find it again. Apologize to Ecklie and you could be back there beside the rest of us"

"And Sara?"

"What about her? She pressured you into letting her stay on this case and now she's paying the consequences. Sara has to pay for her own actions"

"What about me? I get off with a simply apology?"

"Nothing is simple about apologizing to Ecklie"

"I'm just worried about Sara"

Catherine ran her hands over her face, sighing loudly.

"I like Sara, I really do. But she is big enough and ugly enough to look after herself."

"She lives with me Cath, how am I meant to face her everyday?"

"Tell her to move out."

"But the case-"

"It does not override your sanity."

"How is the case by the way?"

"We have yet to find Melissa. The case has been halted until we do. There is nothing more we can do. You need to call Ecklie"

"I'm not going to call Ecklie Catherine. I stand by my decision"

"To put Sara and yourself at risk of losing your jobs?"

"Ecklie won't fire me"

"Don't be so sure. You have toed the line before and almost lost it."

"Well if I do I do. I was my choice and I really don't want Sara to suffer for my mistakes"

"They were hers too Gil. Stop thinking with your heat and start thinking with your head."

"I'm not thinking with my heart"

"Yes you are"

"No I'm not"

Catherine put her hand over his and spoke slowly as if to a child.

"I'm a woman Gil, I have no idea if you have noticed that but I am. You like Sara, I know that. I have no idea if you do but it's the truth."

"Catherine, I have no idea what you are talking about"

"Yes you do. To put your head back into the game you need to get your head away from her. Get it out of your system or deny it, whatever works, but you need to get back to where you were. It's not going to work otherwise"

"Catherine, I really don't know-"

"Yes you do. Think about it Gil. I know you're sorted it out when I see you back at the lab."

Catherine gave him a little smile and moved down the hall, disappearing into her room. Grissom sat for a little longer, thinking about what she said. He finished his coffee, locking the door behind him as he let himself out.

Sara was still not out of her room when he returned home. He gathered Charlie's lead and hooked it onto her leash and headed back out the door. He led her down the same way that he had instructed Sara to jog, pausing to sit at a park bench that sat on the side of the path. He watched as Charlie wondered off to check out some trees and allowed himself to get immersed in his thoughts. Was he thinking with his heart? Was he doing the very thing that he had tried to stop himself from doing? Was he holding Sara above everyone else? He had too many questions with no answers to match them. He knew that if he really did listen to his heart as she said he already was, he was scared of what he would find. Was he in love with her or was it nothing more then lust for the forbidden?

"Hey Grissom"

Sara sat beside him, making him start. She was very good at sneaking up on people.

"Sara, how did you find me?"

"I followed you. I heard you come home and I thought that we needed to talk"

"We do. I just don't know what about yet"

"I do. I need to move out"

"Sara-"

"Hear me out Grissom. Living with you is too much."

"I know that I'm hard to live with."

Sara laughed.

"It's not that Grissom and I think you know that. With our history, it's not the brightest idea that either of us ever had"

"Sara, I wanted to protect you. That's why I wanted you here"

"Protect me from what?"

"Yourself"

Sara sighed and remained silent, her eyes locked on Charlie and the steady moonlight.

"I can look after myself Grissom. I've been doing it for years."

"It was this case Sara. I didn't want to see you slip away from me. I could not watch that happen"

"Grissom, you protecting me could cost you your job"

"Its better then losing you"

"I'm not going anywhere. I just want to find Melissa."

"And we will."

Sara nodded and continued to watch Charlie.

"When is she going home?"

"Tomorrow. I'm going to miss her. You as well"

"I'll visit. I paid for half the shopping remember?"

Grissom laughed, the first one in a long time.

Sara felt her stomach sink as she watched Grissom hand over all of Charlie's stuff to her owners. Grissom would never admit that he was that upset about the removal of Charlie from his life, but she could see it on his face, he was shattered. It was then that she got the best idea. She slipped from the room and went into her own and continued her packing. She had made a hell of a mess since she had arrived and it took longer for her to pack then she thought it would. She had always had a hard time settling into new places and Grissom's was just that, despite the familiarity she felt with him. When all her things were packed, she pulled her suitcase into the living room and sat beside him.

"It's my turn to take you out"

"Where are we going?"

"You'll know when we get there"

Sara dragged him to the car and all but pushed him into the passenger side and began to drive. She was excited. Now she had the means to pay him back for everything he had done for her. He looked at her, confused when they pulled up at the front of the pound.

"What are we doing here?"

"Getting you a crappy guard dog"

"Sara, I can't have a dog"

"Why? You had Charlie and it worked out fine. You enjoyed the company"

"Yes I did-"

"This is a present for you from me. You cannot and will not refuse it. Come on, there are more then enough dogs in there waiting for a good home."

He followed her inside and stayed behind as they were led from the front room to the kennels by one of the workers there. There were so many dogs that it was deafening and Grissom felt overwhelmed by the whole thing. It was only when they were near the end that something caught his eye. A large mutt sat quietly, studying them as they got closer.

"Who's this?"

The young woman kneeled down in front of the cage and the dog moved closer to her, licking her outstretched fingers, her heavy tail swinging.

"This is Ruby. She is two years old."

"What's her story?"

"Her owners died in a fire a few months ago. See those bald patches? She tried to save them but couldn't. She has some permanent burns on her stomach but they'll fade soon enough. She's extremely placid, protective and very affectionate"

"Does she bark much?"

"Only when she has something to say. Mostly it's little grunts and moans with this one"

"Can you let her out?"

"Sure"

The young woman unlocked the cage and Ruby stepped out, going immediately to Grissom. He had a hard time deciding exactly what breeds she had in her but she was a beautiful looking dog. She gently rubbed her body against him, pressing her nose into his hand and licking her wrist. He knelt down in front of her and they studied each other.

"Ruby, sit"

Ruby immediately plopped ungracefully onto her hind quarters, giving Grissom a doggy grin. Grissom stroked her head gently, fondling her large ears.

"Wanna come home with me Ruby?"

Ruby's tail swept back and forth across the hard concrete floor, her eyes locked on Grissom. Grissom broke the eye contact and glanced at the young worker.

"I'll take her. She's just what I need."

Sara followed the young worker out to fill the paperwork and leaving the two new friends to bond. She felt proud of herself for once she had done something right that benefited someone other then herself. She signed the papers that made Grissom the official owner of Ruby and watched as Grissom emerged with her by his side from the back room. Ruby seemed to realize she needed to make a good impression. She sat right beside him, her head just below his hand. They made a good pair those two. The quiet man and the even quieter dog.

When Melissa was finally located, it was in a homeless shelter, not that far from where she had stabbed Sara. She was incoherent and senseless. Brass organized her to get some help, sending her to a care facility for the mentality instable. She was there for two weeks before they were allowed to talk to her again. She was sitting serenely when Catherine arrived, her face blank as she hummed quietly to herself.

"Hello Melissa. How are you?"

"I'm fine. How are you?"

"Good, thank you. Why are you here?"

"To ask you about what happened with Elizabeth and your mother"

"Oh. What do you want to know?"

"Everything. Start with Elizabeth. When did you fall in love with her?"

Melissa smiled as she slipped back into her memories.

"I loved her the moment she began to speak. She was so intelligent and I knew right then that I had found the one. I never met someone who could beat me at my own mental game. She was amazing"

"So you were angry with Peter then?"

"Of course I was. I hated them all for taking her away"

"So you killed her?"

"I had too. She was becoming one of them. She was one of them at that point. She wasn't Elizabeth anymore, she was someone else entirely."

"How did you kill her?"

"Surprised her after she came home. I told her I needed to talk and then when her back was turned I hit her with a brick I had near by."

"Then framed Peter."

"That was easy. I dropped that sheet of paper in front of him and he picked it up and handed it to me. Finger prints on letter, nice and easy"

"When did Elizabeth tell you she was pregnant?"

"As soon as she found out. She told me before she told Peter. That's why I knew that she would be at the club, she wanted to be with him and raise their kid together."

"But you were jealous?"

"I loved her. I needed her more then Peter did, I certainly loved her more then he ever could. She was everything to me"

"What about your mother? Why did you kill her?"

"She found out about Elizabeth. She read my diary and I knew that I had to kill her. I knew that she could never tell anyone else, so I slit her throat."

"Melissa, you killed three people and assaulted an officer of the law. You are in a lot of trouble right now."

"I don't care about that, I really don't. The one thing I loved is gone now and I'm never getting it back. Do what you will to me because it's no worse then what I am doing to myself."

"I have one other question for you. After you killed your mother, you were mumbling about your Pop. Who is that?"

"My grand father. He raped me for years when I was younger."

"What made hi stop?"

"I started fighting back. I stabbed him with a fork one night and he never touched me again"

Catherine moved from her seat and watched as Melissa returned to her dream like daze. She had all she needed and much more. Unfortunately, Melissa would most likely stay in this hospital for the rest of her life, never truly growing up, stuck in her memories of love and betrayal. She was right. Anything that Catherine did was nothing in comparison to what she had done to herself.

Grissom was sitting on the sofa, reading a novel as Ruby slept on his lap. She had settled in nicely and they had gotten into a easy routine. He had organized a plan with Travis. In exchange for the tutoring lessons, Travis would walk Ruby while Grissom was at work. It was a perfect solution for when he wasn't home and Ruby being the easy going dog that she was, had liked Travis immediately. Grissom was just thinking about making Ruby and himself some lunch when there was a knock on the door. Ruby moaned as she jumped off his lap, pacing lightly in front of the door. He patted her on the head as he pulled the door open.

"Sara, hello"

"Hi. Can I come in?"

"Sure."

She gave Ruby a quick rub on the head as she moved inside, taking a seat on the sofa.

"So, I have news."

"What's that?"

"I talked to Ecklie this morning. You're back at work on Monday"

"How did you wrangle that?"

"Told him that it was entirely my fault. Aside from punching him in the nose of course."

Grissom shook his head.

"Sara, it wasn't your fault though"

"I know that but you need to get back to work"

"What about you?"

"I'm off for the rest of the month. But I negotiated to get it paid leave."

"Sara, I cannot and I will not let you do that"

"It's too late, I already have."

"What in the world are you going to do for a month?"

"I'm going on holiday for a little while. I need a break from everything here. I need some space to think."

"Where are you going?"

"An old friend of mine offered me his cabin in Virginia. It's in the middle of nowhere and it's near a lake. I can swim and relax."

"Who's this old friend of yours?"

Sara rolled her eyes at him.

"His name is Andrew and he's gay. He's no threat to my virtue, I promise."

"Ok"

Sara moved a little on the sofa and angled herself towards him a little more.

"Grissom, when I get back, we need to talk."

"About what?"

"About us. I don't know what it is but it's pretty persistent and I need to know if anything could come of it."

"Are you going to be thinking about it too?"

"I don't need to. I already have my answer. I'll tell you when I get back ok?"

"Ok"

Sara stood, leaned forward and pulled Grissom into a hug. They stayed that way for a few moments, enjoying the physical contact and knowing that it was going to be awhile before they saw each other again. To Grissom it felt so strange, usually he was the one that left, not Sara. The tables were turned and he didn't like it in the least. She pulled away first, her hands lingering on Grissom's upper arms.

"Are you at least taking your laptop"

"Yes, that is the one thing I am taking. No cell phone though."

"Will you email me?"

"Everyday. Bye Grissom"

She leaned forward and gave him a soft kiss on the cheek and he caught scent of her shampoo on his nostrils.

"Bye Sara"

He said nothing as she left but as she closed the door behind her, he felt lighter. He was not the only one with things to think about and a need to be alone to do just that. She would come back and they would finish whatever had started all those years ago. He was just about to sit down again when the door burst open and for the first time since her arrival at his house, Ruby barked. She stopped as soon as she saw that it was Sara, her tail starting up again instead.

"Sara?"

She said nothing as she wrapped her arms around his neck and pressed her lips to his. It was everything that he had expected it to be and more. Her lips were so soft and gentle as they toyed with his and she tasted richer then anything he had ever had before. They pulled apart breathless and it took a while before Grissom could gain his ability to speak.

"What was that?"

Sara smiled at him as she slowly headed back towards the door.

"When I get back, we'll pick up right where that kiss left off"

And with that, she was gone, only this time Grissom didn't feel so uncertain about the future. Things were starting to fall into place and after Sara got back, things would be the way they should have been all along. Grissom settled himself back onto the sofa and Ruby placed herself back on top of him, slipping easily into her gentle snores. They spent the rest of the night that way, the quiet man and the even quieter dog.