Author's Note: To follow at the end, but I have to personally thank NANCY1 for reading and reviewing almost every single chapter of this story. It means a lot to me that you've stuck with it this far, and your words have always put a smile on my face. So from the bottom of my heart, thank you. This last chapter is for you.

Here's to chapter thirteen! Hurrah!

Two months had passed since their whole ordeal, but Sara and Grissom were closer than ever, and were free to go about their relationship in the open. It hadn't taken a rocket scientist to figure out what their friends had witnessed during the save of Sara. Grissom had been openly affectionate towards her, sealing the suspicions that they were in fact together.

Max Aldwell had been taken into custody immediately after Sara had been removed from the scene. He confessed to the murders of Izzy Delancy, Penny Gardner, Raymundo Suarez, Officer Kamen, and the kidnapping of Sara and leaving the miniatures at the scene.

When Brass had asked why he'd chosen to murder those people in particular, his answer was bizarre. He'd said that, as a child, he was severely beaten at the hands of Ernie Dell – his foster father and while that was happening, Izzy's music would be playing. He knew, that if he came home to Izzy Delancy music, he was going to be beaten. Penny Gardner was his neighbor for the longest time, and whenever he wanted her help with family problems, she completely brushed him off, saying that it was all nonsense and that he didn't know what he was talking about. Hence, the beating continued. Raymundo Suarez worked at Manleigh Chickens, a place that had poisoned him once with raw chicken nuggets as a child. When Max had arrived to extract his revenge, Raymundo was the only one there, so he was the one to die. Finally, Officer Kamen's mother also used to be a cop when Max was a child, and had brushed off his explanations of child abuse as nothing more than wanting attention. Wanting to kill her, but finding that she was already among the dead, he decided that her daughter would pay the price.

Ernie Dell, realized what his foster son was doing, and took the blame for it, for some reason unknown to even Max himself. He said that his father was a waste of human, and that he wasn't sad that he'd taken his own life. "Good riddance," he'd openly scoffed.

Brass was sure the man had suffered a psychotic break at some point in the last year, triggered by what, he didn't know and didn't care, and believed he would be committed to a mental health hospital. But he'd be damned if the bastard tried to plead insanity instead of guilty when everything went to trial. He would make sure the deaths of those people and Sara's kidnapping did not go unnoticed. Sara and Grissom hadn't stuck around for the interrogation, instead heading immediately home, desperate to be with just each other.

Now, lying in bed, Sara spoke. "Gil," she said quietly. "I don't know if I ever thanked you for saving me."

Grissom turned to her and placed a kiss on her forehead. "Sara, honey, you don't have to thank me. You have to know that I did everything I could to find you as soon as possible."

Sara gave him a small smile and laid her head down on his chest; he pulled her body instinctively closer to his. "Catherine told me… you got out of hand, at some points."

Running a hand through her hair, Grissom returned her smile. "When you were gone, Sara… I was lost. I didn't know where to go, what to say… I was just a mess. That's what losing you is going to do to me."

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be, Sara, none of this was your fault. Don't ever think that."

"I just… I feel like it's my fault or something… for putting you all through that…"

Grissom turned his body to stare directly into her eyes. "Sara, no. Do not ever think that, okay?"

She nodded slowly, tears threatening to overflow. He quickly wiped them from her eyes, ridding her of the wetness on her cheeks. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too, honey. We'll get through this, because we can. And because our love is strong enough to pull us through."

Sara nodded again, desperately wanting sleep to overtake her. The soothing breathing of the man beside her helped, along with her always-there exhaustion. She had yet to return to work, the nightmares from her ordeal still haunting her day and night. She was frequently awoken by the nightmares. She wasn't even quite sure if she wanted to return to work, it seemed like the effects of the job had finally caught up to her, and she didn't want to face an embarrassing burnout. Grissom was incredibly supportive, saying that whatever she decided to do, he would be behind her one hundred percent. That promise warmed her heart as she drifted off to sleep, desperately hoping that tonight would be the night when no nightmares occurred.

Grissom watched as the beautiful but troubled woman beside him fell asleep, wishing that he could somehow take her pain away, but knowing that he couldn't. Once he was sure that she was fast asleep, he let himself start to drift off, knowing that when they awoke tomorrow, it would be hard to get through the day, but that it would be just the tiniest bit better, because that's the way it was. One step at a time, one day at a time.

Pulling Sara's warm body against his, Grissom placed a gentle kiss on her lips, completely thankful that she was still here, and that he could. Now, they had all the time in the world. His last thought before finally falling asleep was this; Sara and I have something special, and I don't plan on losing it anytime soon. We will work through this together, and she will become that whole and lively woman I know her to be.

"I love you Sara," he whispered sleepily, hoping that she'd heard him before the sleep completely overtook his brain. A small smile crept over her face, seen by no one, indicating that she had in fact, heard his whispered words of love. And those were the words that would soothe her heart and heal her shattered mind. She would be okay.

-end-

Author's Note: THANK YOU to everyone who read and reviewed this, it means so much to me that you enjoyed it enough to keep coming back and see what happened. This story was a long time in the works - five and a half years - so it's been fantastic to finally have it out for the world to see. Big thanks to my Big Me for editing, and hugs to all of you fantastic readers. I love you, and I can't wait to see you for the next story. Once again, thank you.