A/N: Thank you as always for reading and reviewing. I hope you enjoy reading this chapter!

I don't own CSI, Angry Beavers or Sesame Street. Oh, and this story contains a shout-out line to Austin Powers, which I also don't own. But, if you can find it, you get 10 bonus points on the next quiz!


The Long Distance Relationship

Dr. Grissom:

Hi! As promised, I'm sending you an email tonight. This means that you have my email address, and that you have to reply to me.

Thank you again for all the work that you put into the seminar. I learned so much, and I know that I wouldn't have learned half of what I did if you hadn't been so kind and willing to teach me outside of class. I just want you to know that I really do appreciate everything that you did for me.

I hope to hear from you soon. I'd love to hear more about your life in Las Vegas.

Sincerely,

Sara Sidle

The email was waiting in his inbox when he arrived back at his tiny apartment after walking Sara home. Grissom read the email she had sent three times. The smile that had initially crossed his face when he saw her name in the list of received emails had spread into a grin by the time he had read it for the last time.

He rolled his cursor over the reply button, but stopped himself. What did he have to say to her? "You're welcome?" No, he wanted to send her a message with more than just that. He'd wait until he was back in Vegas and had something substantial to tell her.

He closed his email and turned off his laptop in preparation for packing it safely into its case. He looked around, realizing exactly how much packing he had left to do before his morning flight the next day. Sighing, he got up and got to work.


As his flight landed in Las Vegas, Grissom felt the excitement course through his veins. He could hardly wait to get back to work. He wondered what cases he had missed, what cases he need to go over, what court dates loomed before him, how Nick and Warrick were doing, how Catherine had done taking over his position as second in command of the shift …

As it was, he didn't have to wait long for an update on his job; Catherine and Jim had come to the airport to greet him. He was rather shocked to see them when he stepped off the jet way; they had never told him that they planned to pick him up at the airport. He had intended to take a cab home.

"Welcome back!" Catherine said cheerfully.

"You didn't have to come to meet me," he said.

"We knew you'd want an update on the lab," Jim said. "And, we figured a free ride home wouldn't hurt."

"You really just came to update me on the lab?" Grissom asked incredulously.

"Well, we also wanted to make sure that you were really coming back to work," Catherine said as they walked to baggage claim. "You had us a bit worried."

Grissom frowned. "What? Why were you worried?"

"The lack of communication had Catherine tied up in knots," Jim explained. "She can't handle going so long without talking to you."

Grissom laughed at that. "Catherine, you knew that I was a phone call away the whole time. You could have called me every day if you had wanted."

"I think she was worried that there was a new woman in your life," Jim said in a loud whisper.

Grissom rolled his eyes, and Catherine shook her head.

"Jim, you always have to go there, don't you? Isn't it enough that my husband barely believes that I'm not sleeping with Gil? Do you have to perpetuate the rumors?"

"Wait," Grissom said quickly. "I thought you said that Eddie was over that. I thought you said that you had convinced him that we're not – and never have been and never will be – together."

"Well, he still has his moments," Catherine said slowly. Sorrow filled her eyes. "I think my marriage is on the way out."

"I'm sorry," Grissom said quietly.

She shook her head. "It's not your fault. It's mine."

"It's his as much as yours," Brass said. "You can't take all the blame, Catherine."

"I won't," she promised. "Besides, we're in counseling, so I'm hoping for the best. I really want this to work – for us and for Linds." She looked at Grissom again and smiled. "Will you tell us all about your trip?"

"It was very nice," Grissom said. "I had a great bunch of students to teach."

"Anyone special?"

"What do you mean by 'special'?" He reached down to grab his bag as it cycled past him.

"I don't know … anyone who stood out."

"Two, as a matter of fact. Tony and Sara."

"Did you bring them back in your luggage?" Brass asked as he took Grissom's first suitcase while Grissom went back for the second. "What did you pack in here? This had better not be a body that you brought back to study …"

Grissom smiled slightly. "Books, Jim. Just books."

Brass shook his head. "You scientists and your books."

"So, what have I missed here?" Grissom asked, having retrieved his second suitcase.

"Watching your little boys grow up," Brass said. "Catherine tells me that Nicky and Warrick are both nearly ready to go to Level II."

"Warrick, too?" Grissom asked in surprise. "I never expected him to catch up to Nick so quickly."

Catherine shrugged. "What can I say? You're a good teacher."

"And, I think they're really driving each other," Brass added. "They've become great friends, and I think a little healthy competition between friends often leads to excellent results. If it's all right with both of you, I'd like to promote Nick first. He does have seniority, and I think it would mean a lot to him."

Grissom and Catherine exchanged a look and nodded.

"Good. Then, we'll promote him effective next week – Gil, you can give him the good news – and we'll promote Warrick in a month or two. Fair enough?"

"I like it," Catherine replied.

"Fine," Grissom added.

"Good. All right, troops, let's get Gil home so we all can get back to work."


Dear Sara,

Thank you for sending me an email. It was great to hear from you. You are very welcome for all the extra help during the seminar. It was a pleasure teaching you.

I'm home in Vegas. I thought you'd want to know that I made it safely. I'm settling in again, and getting back into the swing of things at the lab. Nick, one of the new CSIs that I've been training, will be promoted to Level II next week. I'm so happy for him. He's going to be thrilled when we tell him.

I've only been back a day, and I already have two new cases that I'm working. One is a smash and grab, and the other is a homicide. Obviously, the homicide is a bit trickier, but I think we'll have it solved soon enough. I'm working that case with Nick and Catherine, one of my other colleagues. I'm working the smash and grab with Warrick, the newest CSI on our team. I can't give you any more details, particularly not in an email, but once the cases are closed, I'll tell you all about them. I think you'll enjoy the full stories.

I hope to hear from you soon. Please keep me updated on your news.

Sincerely,

Grissom

Sara read the email twice before it really hit her. He had emailed her! They really were going to stay in touch. She felt her fingers shaking with excitement.

"Mary!" she yelled. "Mary, come here and see this!"

Mary ran into the room, her eyes wide with alarm. "What?" she exclaimed.

"Look! I got an email from Grissom!"

Mary leaned over her shoulder to read the brief missive. She smiled. "Very nice, Sara. He really does care about you. He answered your email really quickly."

Sara turned to look at her. "You don't seem as excited as I thought you'd be."

Mary sighed. "Sara, I'm worried that you're getting your hopes up for nothing."

"What is that supposed to mean?" Sara asked, feeling anger bubbling just below the surface of her emotions.

"Just that he's in Vegas and you're here …"

"And?" Sara asked, daring her to continue.

"And it's a long drive from friendship to love," Mary said. "It's even longer if you never see each other."

"Who said anything about love?" Sara asked. "We're friends, Mary. We've been friends from the beginning. You said yourself that it was better this way."

"I know, it's just …"

"Just what?"

"Nothing, I guess," Mary said. She smiled. "If you two can make this long distance thing work, more power to you."

"It's just long distance friendship," Sara reminded her.

"I know," Mary said. "But, sometimes, that can be as hard as long distance romance."

"What do you know about long distance romance? Tom is right here."

Mary's face flushed with excitement and embarrassment. "We haven't even had our first date yet."

"But it's tomorrow, right?"

"Right."

Sara smiled. "You're going to have a great time with him. I know it."

"I hope so," Mary replied.

"He knows better than to do anything to hurt you," Sara said. "If he does, I can find way too many ways to 'accidentally' injure him in the lab."

Mary laughed. "I'm so glad to have a brave protector."

"No one hurts my friends – especially not my best friend."


Hi, Grissom,

Tell your friend Nick that I said congratulations on his promotion. Has it happened yet? How are your cases going?

Our new fall semester starts tomorrow, so I just went out today to buy all my books. I won't even tell you how much they cost – but it was way more than they're worth, I'm sure. Ah, well, it's for a good cause.

This will be my last semester of school. I took so many summer classes that I'll get done a semester early. I'm really excited, but a bit nervous, too. My roommate, Mary, won't be done until the spring. I told her that she didn't work hard enough! No, I'm kidding – Mary works as hard as anyone. She's just smarter about spacing her classes out, I suppose. She didn't nearly kill herself in the pursuit of an early graduation, at any rate.

She actually just started dating my lab partner, Tom. I hope that things work out for them. Of course I'd like to see my friends happy, but, on a selfish note, it could get tricky for me to be stuck in the middle of their arguments if things go badly.

Well, I'm sure I've bored you with enough gossip at this point. Let me know how you're doing.

Hoping to hear from you soon,

Sara

Grissom couldn't stop the smile that lit up his face as he read Sara's latest email. He was so engrossed in it that he didn't even hear Catherine walk into his office.

"Interesting reading?" she asked lightly. "You look awfully happy – I was sure that we had a firewall that blocked porn."

"Not all men are into porn," Grissom replied, looking up from his computer screen. "I was just reading an email."

"From whom?"

"You're awfully nosy."

"I know," Catherine smiled. "Does that mean that you're not going to tell me?"

Grissom sighed. "It's from one of my students from the seminar."

"Ah," Catherine replied, studying him closely. "I'd say that the author would be the Sara that you mentioned."

Grissom raised an eyebrow.

"I can't imagine an email from Tony making you smile like that," she explained. "Okay, Gil, out with it. What happened between you and Sara?"

"Nothing," Grissom said honestly. "She's a brilliant student and a great person. We became friends. I'd like to keep her as a friend. That's all."

"Nothing more?" Catherine asked suspiciously.

"Catherine, she's a graduate student. I'm sure she has far better romantic options than an old man who lives a plane ride away."

"Stop calling yourself old," Catherine admonished. "You're not that much older than me – if you're old, I'm old."

"But, you, my dear, don't look it."

"Neither do you," she smiled. "Stop sweet-talking me in an effort to throw me off. Do you realize how many suspects try that on me in a day?"

"Yes," he replied, thinking of how many tried it on him.

"Look, Gil, just be careful with this girl," Catherine cautioned. "I know that you're not planning on anything beyond friendship, but she might have different ideas about you."

Grissom shook his head. "I don't think so."

"All right," Catherine agreed. "But, just in case …"

"I'll be careful," he promised.

"Good. Now, let's go find Nicky and give him his promotion."

Grissom picked up the new badge Nick would receive, and offered it to Catherine.

"What's this for?" she asked.

"You've worked with him almost as much as I have," he said. "I'll tell him he's been promoted, and you give him his badge."

"Thanks, Grissom," she smiled, taking the badge from him.

They left his office together. They found both Nick and Warrick in the break room with Brass, laughing together over something they were watching on tv.

"Cartoons again?" Catherine asked, rolling her eyes.

"Ah, come on, Cath," Nick defended. "The Angry Beavers are cool! You're a mom. Don't you watch this stuff?"

"We're still in the Sesame Street phase," Catherine replied.

"Hey, Griss, how do you feel about cartoons?" Warrick asked.

"That would depend entirely on the cartoon," Grissom said. "But, for now, can we turn this off?"

Brass, knowing what was coming, quickly turned off the television.

"Whoa, this seems serious," Nick said, looking at Warrick a bit uneasily.

"It is serious," Brass said.

"Are we in trouble?" Warrick asked.

"On the contrary," Grissom said with a smile. "We have some very good news for you."

"Good news we can do," Warrick said. "What is it?"

Grissom smiled again, and turned his attention to Nick. "Nicky, we've all be working together for over a year now, and we – Catherine, Jim and I – have been very impressed with your work. You have completed all the tasks and cases we've required of you – all the tasks and cases necessary to move up."

Nick's eyes grew round as he realized what Grissom was saying.

Grissom grinned at the look on Nick's face. "As your direct supervisor, it is my honor to promote you to CSI Level II."

"No way!" Nick exclaimed.

"Way," Brass said, pulling some paperwork out of his briefcase. "And, as your supervisor's supervisor – and your shift supervisor – I'd like to ask you to sign in the three places marked with an X to make this official."

"And, I'd like to ask you to trade me your old badge for this one," Catherine said, extending his new identification.

"All right," Nick said. His grin stretched from ear to ear. "Thanks so much, guys. This is great!" He laughed. "Woo-hoo!"

"Congratulations, Nick," Warrick said.

"Now we just have to get this guy up at Level II with me," Nick said, playfully punching Warrick's arm.

"His day will come soon enough," Grissom said, looking at his newest CSIs with undisguised pride. "You've both impressed us all."


Hello, Sara,

How are your new classes going? You'll have to let me know what you're learning – or, at the very least, your textbook titles. I want to make sure I'm keeping up with the academic community.

Congratulations on being so close to graduation! You must be so excited. The entire world is open to you now. I thought that was the most daunting part of graduating: trying to decide where to go and what to do once I didn't have the same school to return to anymore.

Thanks for asking about Nick. I'll certainly pass your congratulations on to him. He was promoted last week. It was not a huge ceremony, but all of us from the shift got together to give him his new badge, then we took him out for breakfast. He was really excited, and we were all excited for him. Now, we just have to get Warrick up to Level II.

My cases are both closed. The smash and grab was in a jewelry store in the mall. It was classic, really – one person handled the clerk while the other smashed a case in and stole all the jewelry. It was mostly men's watches. One of our undercover cops caught them selling the watches on the street. Not exactly the brightest of the bright, those two.

My homicide was a bit more involved. It was sad, really – a man had killed his mother. He wanted his inheritance a bit before it was due to him. He was really careful about the whole thing – no fingerprints anywhere near the body. Of course, we found his fingerprints in the house, but that's to be expected – it was his mother's house. In the end, we were tipped off by how quickly he had cashed in her life insurance policy. Grieving son, indeed.

My newest case is a double homicide. Again, details to follow.

Please let me know how things are going for you.

Grissom

Again, Sara found herself weak in the knees from reading an email from him. Unfortunately, she was going to be late for class if she lingered, so there wasn't enough time to read it over three times and let herself turn into an emotional puddle. She ran out her apartment door, rushing to make it to class before the professor began her lecture.

She slid into her seat next to Tony just before class began. He gave her a smile.

"Run all the way here?" he asked.

"Just about," she replied. "I was checking my email, and I lost track of things."

"Yeah, I've done that," he said. "Listen, Mary and I are meeting for dinner after class. Do you want to join us?"

She looked at him closely, trying to gauge the sincerity behind his question. "Are you sure I won't be a third wheel?"

"You?" Tom asked. "Never. You're Mary's best friend, Sara, and you and I have been friends for awhile, too."

She smiled. "So, basically, you're promising me that it won't get weird?"

"That's exactly what I'm promising," Tom smiled.

"All right, then, I'll come – if for no other reason than to test your sincerity."


Dinner with her roommate and her roommate's new boyfriend turned out to be fun. Mary and Tom were very conscious of the fact that they had been Sara's friends long before they had been each other's love interests, and worked to keep their "cuteness," as Sara and Mary called it, to a minimum.

"This was fun," Sara said as Tom walked the girls back to their apartment. "We'll have to do it again."

"Definitely," Mary agreed.

"Let's make it our Monday / Wednesday tradition," Tom suggested.

Sara and Mary both looked at him.

"We all get out of class at the same time," he said. "Sara and I are in class together, and Mary, you're close enough for us all to get together. Don't you think it would be a nice idea?"

Mary reached down to grab his hand. "I think it's a great idea," she said, lacing her fingers through his. "Sara?"

"I'm game," Sara replied. She grinned. "Tom, are you doing this just so you can look like a pimp with a lady on each arm?"

He laughed. "I hadn't thought about it, but now that you mention it …"

Mary swatted him. "You'd better not be running around this school with a lady on each arm."

"I wouldn't do that," he said, smiling down at her.

Sara looked away, feeling distinctly uncomfortable. But, in a moment, it was over, and Mary was joking with her as though Tom were a friend, not her boyfriend.

Sara joined in the banter, but inwardly sighed. She loved Mary and had always liked Tom, but she hated the thought of losing her best friend to him.


Hi, Grissom,

Congratulations on solving your cases! I loved reading about them – you'll have to tell me all about the current case, too. I'd love as many details as you can give me. It's truly fascinating.

My classes are going well. I've attached a list of my textbooks and required reading for this semester. I'm nearly done with my thesis, too. If you wouldn't mind, could I send it to you to look over? I'd love to get your opinion on what I've written. I'm pretty proud of it, but I'd like to have it read by a set of impartial eyes before I turn it in to my advisor.

I'm going to take next semester off and work a bit – probably at a coffee shop or something. I'm not done with school, though; I've applied to the doctoral programs at five different universities. I'm hoping to hear back from them soon – the waiting is killing me! Mary, my roommate, keeps telling me that I'm worrying over nothing, and that I'll surely get in. I just hope that she's right.

But, being the compulsive worrier that I am, I can't just leave it alone, so I'm formulating a back up plan. If I can't start my doctorate in the fall, I'm going to have to find a real job. I suppose that starting to pay back all my student loans wouldn't be such a bad thing. I'm looking at several labs that need physicists – including the crime lab in San Francisco. I'm not entirely sure if I'll apply just yet, but I wanted you to know that I'm thinking about it. It was your influence that led me to consider it, so, thank you for that.

Well, I need to get going – I have to meet my lab group. I'll "talk" to you soon.

Sara

Excitement coursed through Grissom as he read her email. From beginning to end, he was thrilled with what she was telling him. Without stopping to think, he wrote one of the shortest emails he had ever sent her.

Sara,

I would love to read your thesis. Send it to me as soon as you'd like.

I can't tell you how excited I am to hear that you're thinking of applying to the San Francisco crime lab. Let me know if you do decide to apply – I have some contacts there that could really help you.

I can't wait to hear from you again.

Grissom