A/N: I hope you enjoyed this variation on a great episode. It certainly was a lot of fun to write and in a way it's made me miss Grissom even more. I've been thinking about this long-distance business and we all assume Grissom's still in Paris but for all we know he's back in Vegas and Sara goes home to him every single day after shift. Notice how she's had her hair cut a little shorter, so it's a little curlier? Didn't Grissom once said he liked her hair a little curly? ;-) I know, I live in hope!

Thank you for reading. I loved reading your reviews and your thoughts on the show.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" Hodges asked, his gaze flicking between Grissom and Sara uncertainly. His smile was tentative at the very least, almost awkward like he knew he was intruding on a special moment.

Grissom and Sara shared a look and he smiled at her gratefully, before turning and shaking his head briskly in reply to Hodges's question. "We'd just finished," he said at last, releasing the tight hold he had of his wife.

Relief washed all over the tech's face and he clasped his hands tightly in front of him, swaying on his feet uncomfortably. "Thank you," he said, his words directed at both Sara and Grissom, "I appreciate you doing this."

Sara studied Hodges with narrowed eyes for a moment and seeing the grave, almost despondent look on his face she flashed his a warm smile and grabbed her boots before turning toward Grissom. "You know what?" she said brightly as she forced her feet into her boots. "I'm…huh…going to go play ball with Hank."

"Oh, you don't have to do that," Hodges exclaimed genuinely.

She scrambled to her feet, dusted off a little grass off her pant legs and bent to pick up Hank's tennis ball. "It's okay," she replied easily. "He could do with the exercise anyway." She straightened up and smiled at Hodges.

"Thanks, Sara," Grissom said, reaching up for her free hand and squeezing it warmly. Sara nodded and returned his smile and he watched her take off at a jog, calling for Hank to come, before refocusing his gaze on Hodges who was watching Sara with fondness. "You don't have to stand, David," he said, amused by the tech's obvious discomfort and formal stance.

"Oh." Hodges shook himself out of his trance and looked down toward the blanket. "Sorry." He hesitated for an instant before dropping down on his haunches rather uncomfortably.

"I'm surprised you should ask advice from me," Grissom said, chuckling at Hodges's uneasiness, his eyes once again drawn to Sara and Hank playing ball as he spoke, "especially concerning women. I don't think I've much to share on that front."

"Oh, on the contrary," Hodges enthused. "You're the perfect person for me to ask. You and I are the same," he added emphatically, causing Grissom to frown with puzzlement. "We live for the science. We breathe it, we are it, we…" he struggled to find the right words, "it consumes us; it's our life – our passion, our reason for being."

Grissom pursed his face with a mixture of surprise and interest, thinking how true this assessment of his character had been once upon a time but not anymore.

"But you," Hodges went on passionately as if reading Grissom's mind. "You took the next step; you left it all. You risked it all for her." His gaze flicked to Sara and he watched her for a long moment before asking, "How did you know to do that?"

Grissom took in a long breath as he pondered Hodges's question. Hank let out a couple of joyful barks and a bright smile instinctively spread across his face at the sound. He turned and watched Sara laugh as she tossed the tennis ball as far as she could, the Boxer taking off at a sprint after it. Immediately his heart filled, swelling up with unconditional love and deep contentment. He was pleased he had pushed past his initial reluctance at inviting Hodges along. Seeing how Sara had transformed his life for the better was bound to make a difference and if Hodges could have even one percent of what he and Sara had then it was worth opening up and sharing a little wisdom.

"David," he replied eventually, refocusing his eyes on the tech, "you got to ask yourself one question." He paused, smiling, raising his eyebrows questioningly before saying, "Is she the one? And if she is then you got to put her first."

"Even before your passion?" Hodges retorted at once. "Before yourself?"

Grissom took in another long breath. "Yeah" he replied simply, nodding his head with certainty. "It took me far too long to realise it but if Wendy is your Sara – and this is who we're talking about here, isn't it?" he asked. To which, Hodges nodded vigorously. "Then it doesn't matter where you are as long as you're with her; the science will still be with you."

Hodges thought about Grissom's words for a moment before nodding and looking down at his lap.

Noticing the younger man's sadness and lingering indecision Grissom sighed before clearing his throat and asking forthrightly, "What keeps you here, David? In Vegas?"

Hodges's head snapped up. "But Portland, it's so far, so up north, so…green!"

Grissom burst out into a hearty chuckle. "I've got two words for you, David: Costa Rica."

Hodges grudgingly conceded the point with a small laugh.

"It's the City of Roses, David," Grissom went on, "and you don't have to learn a whole new language."

Hodges's face lit up with sudden excitement. "And there's the beer!" he exclaimed.

Grissom acquiesced with a nod. "And Wendy," he added quietly.

Hodges sobered up. "And Wendy," he repeated solemnly.

"You know, David," Grissom said quite seriously now, "after Warrick died I...lost my way a little - my bearings." Hodges nodded gravely. "And after the funeral when Sara left again, I realised that I'd already lost someone I loved and that I didn't want to lose another one." His lips pulled into a small smile. "Once I knew, once I realised that being at the lab wasn't enough, that it was of no comfort to me anymore and that I was miserable because she wasn't there, well..." he smiled wider now, "I would have gone to the end of the world to find her." He turned loving eyes toward Sara, adding after a moment, "And she came to Paris for me."

"Wendy didn't stay for me."

Grissom looked at Hodges in the eye when he said, "Neither did Sara."

This gave Hodges pause and he nodded, a smile breaking across his face. "You're lucky," he told Grissom, "You got it all." Grissom arched a quizzical brow. "The woman, the work, the passion…" he laughed, adding, "the dog."

"It was a long and winding road, with many a dead end," Grissom replied, stealing another glance at Sara, "but yeah, I got it all and I've never been happiest."

"May I ask another question?" Hodges asked quite candidly.

Grissom took his eyes off Sara long enough to nod at the tech.

"You let her come back here, back in Vegas, and you stayed in Paris," he said, eying Grissom cautiously, gauging for a reaction, "even though you knew that maybe after all that had happened it might not be the best thing for her – or for you."

Grissom pondered Hodges's words for a moment. "I didn't let her come back here; it was never my choice to make, but yeah you're right." He watched Hodges hesitantly, unsure whether to open up about something that concerned Sara. "I just didn't stand in her way," he said eventually, letting out a breath. "It's something Sara needed to do for herself and coming back to Vegas has been the best thing for her – for us – I'm sure of it."

Hodges nodded, his gaze dropping to the ground before flicking furtively back to Sara. "You think I could have this one day?"

Grissom registered a look of surprise. "I think it's in each and every one of us to have this," he replied honestly. "You've just got to want it enough."

Hodges pursed his face, nodding, before lapsing into an uncomfortable silence and Grissom resumed watching Sara play with Hank. She turned toward the two men and waved happily.

"You know what?" the tech said suddenly, waving back at Sara. "I'm going to leave you two to it." He got to his feet. "I appreciate the chat and you letting me crash your tête-à-tête."

Grissom smiled. "Don't mention it, David. I hope you can figure it out." Hodges smiled, nodding. "We'll see you later."

He watched as Hodges waved goodbye at Sara as he strode quickly through the park. Sara waved back and grinning came jogging back toward Grissom, Hank bounding by her side. Her cheeks were flushed, her hair messy but her eyes shone with happiness and freedom and he felt a sudden surge of love and pride wash through him.

"You two finished your little heart-to-heart?" she asked, panting as she kneeled down beside him.

Grissom laughed and pushed Hank out of the way before pulling her to him by the lapel of her jacket. He leaned across to take her lips in a slow, lingering kiss, which after her initial surprise Sara was more than happy to return.

"What was that for?" she asked when she finally could catch her breath.

"Can I not just kiss my wife for no other reason than because I want to?" he retorted joyfully.

Sara giggled and narrowed her eyes at him. "What on earth did you tell him? Or rather, did he tell you?"

He lifted an easy shoulder. "He reminded me how lucky I am."

Sara's grin was pleasurable. "And what did you do for him, huh? He was grinning like the proverbial cat as he left."

"Nothing that concerns you, my dear," Grissom replied, stifling a smile. "But let's just say that I've got a feeling his days are counted."

Sara frowned. "He's sick?"

"You could put it this way, yes."

Hank lay down next to Sara and she gave his side a good rub. "Gil, you're not making sense."

"He's going to leave the lab, Sara."

"He told you as much?" Sara asked, unable to disguise her surprise at the news.

"No, but I think it's only a matter of time before he does."

Sara pursed her face thoughtfully. "You think he's got it in him to uproot his life for Wendy?"

Grissom shrugged. "I did."

Sara's face softened lovingly and she leaned over to kiss him. "That you did, and it was the beginning of the rest of our life."

Grissom pulled her to him and Sara turned so that she was half-lying half-sitting against his chest. He wrapped an arm around her, his hand coming to rest over the swell of her abdomen while Sara mindlessly stroked her hand through Hank's coat. "He's like me," he said softly after a while in silence.

Sara shifted in his arms. "Who, Hodges?" she asked, looking at her husband with bafflement.

He nodded into her hair and when she opened her mouth ready to object to the comparison he added, shrugging, "He needed empirical proof, and a little nudging in the right direction. And I thought-"

"And you thought that ," she continued for him, "if he could see for himself what we have and what he was missing out on..." she let her words drift and he nodded that she was correct. "Not just a pretty face, huh?" she said, a wide grin tugging at her lips.

Grissom shrugged modestly, a crooked smile twisting his lips. "It would appear not."

She nudged him gently in the ribs. "I'm proud of you. You did good."

He pushed aside a tendril of her hair. "You're not mad I just hijacked our downtime for Hodges?"

She shook her head and settled herself into his arms again. "No. I think you were right. We should be spreading a little happiness and lovin' around," she said tongue-in-cheek.

Grissom brushed his lips to the top of her head, his hand dropping back to her stomach instinctively and Sara turned her face, stroking her cheek against his chest lovingly. "Sara?" he asked musingly after a moment. "When are we going to tell them?"

She covered his hand with hers and shrugged. "I don't know."

"It won't be long before we start to show."

She turned in his arms, her brow arched teasingly, her grin wide and beautiful. "We?"

The mischievous glint in his blue eyes spoke volume. He fell back abruptly onto the ground, causing Sara to collapse on top of him. Giggling, she turned over and met his laughing eyes with shiny ones of her own, their lips readily joining for a long and languorous kiss.

The end.