The next few days passed in a haze of welcome relaxation. They were well taken care of by their families, and even Sara benefited from some parental care. Though she tolerated the daily visits from the nurse, and hospital shrink, she had been surprised and touched to discover that Dianne actually cared about her, and took care of her almost as well as she did Sofia.

While Sara could only guess at her motive, and was pretty sure that pity featured somewhere, it was nevertheless Dianne who ensured that Sara ate properly, that she took her pills, and encouraged her to try to talk with the psychologist. It was also Dianne who arranged for Sara to have a check-up with the GP a week after their return, when Sara's faintness had been slow to heal. To that end Sara found herself in the kitchen at the grand old hour of 8am, rubbing her eyes and trying to adjust to the bright artificial light.

"Sit down," Dianne said, sparing her shoulder a rub and manoeuvring her into a chair. "Have something to eat before we go."

"It's just us?" Sara asked, noticing the absence of others in the room.

"Just us. The others can have a lie in until we get back. David and Jane will be here in a minute to take care of things."

David and Jane were Nick's parents, and had been a central part of their lives since their return. They were both decent people, and had not been backward in diving in to help out. They took care of Nick, embraced Sofia as their own, and also helped out with the others, especially Warrick. Of late they had also helped run Lindsey to school and back, easing the burden on Lily Flynn.

Five minutes later Sara was piled into the car, wrapped in a coat and scarf to protect against the bitter winter wind, and an hour later it was all over. Despite not knowing how she would feel about driving back into Vegas, she found herself handling it well, and Dianne was very supportive. She accompanied Sara in to see the GP, explaining the situation, and then left them alone so Sara could talk and be examined in private. They then made a trip to pathology for more blood tests, checking her vitamin levels, and had a brief foray into the pharmacy to pick up some supplements and supplies.

All in all it went well, and by the time they headed back Sara felt much better about the whole thing, and grateful that Dianne had taken the time. When she stepped back inside the house however it was to find Grissom in one of his thoughtful moods, judging by the way he immediately surged forward to meet her.

"How'd it go?" he asked, heading her off in the entrance hall.

"Fine," she answered. She shrugged off her coat and scarf, and hung it on a peg by the door. "It was just routine stuff."

"Nothing to worry about," Dianne chipped in. "They ran some blood tests, did an examination, it's just a precaution."

"Good," he said.

He looked relieved, and his eyes raked over her as if he wanted to greet her properly, but with Dianne there he didn't dare. A second later however she left, and he then stepped forward to kiss her.

"Are you really okay?" he asked, hands on her hips.

"Fine," she assured. "You know they just wanted to make sure everything's on track."

"Are you still in pain?"

"No. Most of it's gone."

Her pain had indeed dissipated over the previous few days, and now all that was left was a residual weakness – one she knew was only temporary.

"Fancy a walk?"

"Sure," she said.

"Take a coat," Dianne called, who had evidently not retreated far. "It's too cold out there."

Grissom, obedient, wrapped her back up in the borrowed coat and scarf, and then steered her back out the door toward the barn. His idea of a walk turned out to be a good sit down on some dry hay bales, but the barn had become the group's place of retreat over the past week. Sara sat down on a comfortable hay stack, Grissom beside her, and stared out the open barn doors at the milling grey clouds.

"What are you thinking?" she asked.

"Just about our future," he said. "What we're going to do."

Sara nodded – that was a larger subject than she was in the mood to tackle just then, but she could see already that he had given it some thought.

"And?"

He shrugged. "We can't stay here forever. I know Dianne said we could stay a few weeks, but after that …"

"We need to move out," Sara agreed. "We can't remain a burden on her long term."

"She's been more than generous already."

"So … we could go back to our place. Back to Vegas."

"Is that what you want?" he asked.

Sara shrugged; she had no idea what she wanted, only that their current situation was quite pleasant. It was nice to have the family support.

"I'm open to ideas," she said.

As she sat there on the bale he spelled it out for her, and it turned out he had given it more thought than she had given him credit for. He wanted first of all to get her an engagement ring – and she felt touched that this was his highest priority – but after that he admitted to feeling no great desire to live in the suburbs again. He wanted, as he put it, "peaceful surroundings", and soon spoke about not only putting their house in Vegas up for sale, but renting one close by in the countryside until they could find one to purchase permanently.

"So we'll be country bumpkins?" she joked.

He scrutinised her, just enough to doubt her support.

She smiled. "I'm happy with that."

Relieved, he rubbed her leg.

"I figure renting will just give us some time to figure things out. Even for just a few months. We'll still have our cash there if we find something to buy, but in the meantime there's no rush. I can get back into entomology, run the odd lecture, and if you want to return to the lab –"

"I don't want to return to the lab," Sara said, feeling sick at the thought. "So long as we're financially okay."

"We will be."

The up side to the fact that they had been workaholics for so many years was that they had both hoarded healthy bank accounts, which right now was a good thing. It took the pressure off in having to plan their futures too intimately.

"I figure the others can stay if they want," Grissom said. "Give themselves time. I know Catherine is trepidatious about returning to Vegas – she still hasn't been back in over a week. And if Warrick wants to stay with us, have that support –"

"You don't need to convince me," Sara said. "They're family."

Of that much she was sure, just as she was sure that Catherine was unlikely to stay with them permanently. Sooner or later she would feel the natural tug of Lindsey, and then force herself to move back into the city to be with her. Warrick, however, had no family, outside of Lily Flynn who had tried to support him, and Nick and Sofia too, needed to remain with the group a while longer. None of that was an issue; Sara would feel alone in any house without them.

"I also thought –" Grissom hesitated "- that if we have kids … raising them in the countryside, some space around them …"

"Would be better," Sara finished. "I agree."

And just like that, it was sorted. Sara walked back inside feeling a new sense of stability and direction, and over the coming weeks, the plan was put into action with remarkable smoothness. They stayed with Dianne a while, and helped with the household chores to ease their guilt, and in turn she assured them that there was no need to "hurtle out the door", but nevertheless aided in their search for a house, and helped find them a disused farmhouse down the road, one that was conveniently close.

It was old, and a bit ramshackle, but to Sara it was perfect, and she felt light and happy as they stepped into a new phase of life. Grissom did buy her an engagement ring – white gold with diamonds – though neither of them felt any immediate need to stroll down the aisle and formalise it. Catherine, at Grissom and Sara's urging, did stay with them for a time, Sara correctly sensing that Catherine was wound up tight about returning to Vegas, and the buzz of city life. Sara helped by discussing it in private with Lindsey and Lily Flynn, ensuring they understood, and bringing their support on board. With support from all directions Catherine gradually recuperated, and over the coming weeks, came to divide her time between them and her own house in Vegas, taking back the reins of motherhood.

Warrick, for his part, tagged along behind Catherine, though he did spend time with Grissom and Sara, seeming to value Grissom's presence. The only discernable sign of trauma in him was in his unusual silences, thoughtful as he strolled around their extensive fields, and then on the day when he abruptly returned home with a gun, saying to Sara that he wanted to ensure everyone's safety.

Nick and Sofia, in turn, remained within the bosom of Dianne Curtis, Sofia unwilling or unable to split from her mother. Dianne took care of them, and when Nick's parents eventually returned to Texas, the Stokes clan remained in touch via regular webcam chat. Nick seemed to understand that Sofia needed her mother, and did not push the issue, though as time passed he too divided his time between the Curtis residence, and Sara and Grissom's house. Sara set them up with a back bedroom for their exclusive use, and sometimes the couple stayed, at other times returning home to stay with Dianne.

The one fly in the ointment during those otherwise happy days was the brief friction that occurred between Nick and Sofia. To Sara their relationship had always seemed solid, but she supposed that even the best relationships had their downs, and her friends' occurred when Sofia announced her intention to return to work. Nick had apparently never considered that Sofia could ever want to go back – the thought was ludicrous – and it conflicted with his hopes for a quiet family life, one involving several children. Catherine was his ally, not understanding either why Sofia could want to put herself in danger, after all they'd been through, and the situation was only saved when Dianne, who had at first tried to stay out of it, eventually entered the fray. She counselled them each in turn, acting like a mediator, and eventually it was settled. After a long talk out in the garden the couple compromised, and it turned out that Sofia would return to work, albeit in a safe role, and Nick would be a stay at home father.

The solution seemed obvious, and even Grissom rolled his eyes, confessing to Sara that he hardly believed the two had nearly let it derail them. But once they'd agreed their relationship appeared strengthened overnight, and they were suddenly entirely supportive and inseparable. Nick went with Sofia for her interview with PD, oozing support, and in turn Sofia started taking vitamin supplements, and agreed to start trying for a baby. This development caused panic in the Christian Stokes clan, who suggested, not without humour, that perhaps Nick should consider marrying her first, and doing things in the correct order. And when Catherine jokingly suggested the same thing – that someone in the group ought to marry before they started pushing out kids – she inadvertently settled it.

Grissom, who got a troubled look when she suggested this, appearing guilty, suddenly swung into action and started with plans and costs for himself and Sara. After some talking the two appalled everyone by stating they only wanted a registry office signing – and not a circus and expensive parade – mutually arguing that what they wanted was a marriage, and not a wedding. Catherine, disgusted but withholding it, nevertheless pushed Sara into getting a decent dress, and Grissom into giving her a decent honeymoon. The two ended up having a quiet but blissful wedding – no more people than they wanted – and spent a week afterward travelling through the jungles of South America, and making a stop in the Galapagos Islands. When they returned Grissom appeared invigorated, and apart from going to the GP with Sara to discuss starting a family, also invested in a large acreage of farmland up the road, and began working with an architect to build their dream house.

Sofia and Nick's wedding was not as quiet, and occurred with full fanfare from both the Curtis and Stokes clans. Nick's entire family came up from Texas – more than 60 of them – and Sofia was fully decked out in bridal regalia, with Sara and Catherine as bride's maids. But the two were happier than Sara had ever seen them, and her heart was full of joy as she watched the two on the dance floor, nuzzled close, beaming at each other and kissing repeatedly.

After a day of joyous celebration the two retreated to the Bahamas for their honeymoon, and returned with such wide smiles that Sara knew they had spent the bulk of it in bed. The two elected to stay temporarily with Grissom and Sara, not yet having a place of their own, but this caused some humour in the household when Grissom innocently why, having thought they preferred it at Dianne's.

"As newlyweds?" Catherine joked, laughing as she rinsed her mug in Sara's sink. "Are you kidding?"

"Not that I don't love Dianne and all," Nick said, sitting on their bench, "but it's a bit off-putting having your mother-in-law through the wall. Know what I mean?"

"Definitely," Sara said, smiling.

"And yet you don't mind having us through the wall?" Grissom joked.

"We've coped up 'til now," Nick said.

"Just keep the 'oohs' and 'ahhs' to a minimum, then."

"Why?" Sofia asked, grinning. "Worried you can't keep up?"

"Yeah, you can't tell us you two are chaste."

"We never said we were," Sara said.

"Just confine it to your bedroom," Grissom said. "That's all I'm asking."

"That's a shame," Sofia said. "I was just thinking your couch looks comfortable."

But though Sofia wound him up at every opportunity, those opportunities became increasingly limited as she returned to work. PD found her a part time role in Internal Affairs, one with regular hours, and she slipped back into working life almost effortlessly. Now they had a steady income, Nick also began house shopping, and Sara went with him to look at several places on the outskirts of Las Vegas, Nick eventually settling on one that was modern, but far enough out that they had no neighbours. The couple moved in a few months later – just about the time when Sara fell pregnant.

It was on a Friday night that they made the announcement – the group habitually spent Friday nights together, everyone sleeping over – and as Catherine helped out with a basket of laundry, and Sofia got stuck in to a post-work glass of wine, Grissom said they had something to announce.

"You're pregnant," Catherine said, not missing a beat, and giving a knowing smile.

Sara stared. She had thought they had left no clues.

"How -?"

"Instinct," Catherine lied, shrugging. But she beamed as she surged forward, and caught Sara in a strangling hug, kissing her on the cheek and briefly the lips. "I'm thrilled for you both."

Sara grinned, overjoyed, but still Grissom stared.

"How did you know?" he asked.

"We're CSIs, man," Nick said, coming to hug them. "You can't hide that kind of stuff from us."

"We knew you were trying," Warrick offered.

"You're really pregnant?" Sofia asked, who had apparently missed the clues.

"Just a few weeks," Grissom answered. "It's early days, but we wanted you to know. We're not going to announce it to anyone else until the twelfth week, just in case."

Suddenly Catherine's smile faltered, sensing their hesitation.

"It'll be fine," she said. "Don't even think about it. You were starved last time, you're better now. You're healthy. It's a perfectly good environment for a baby."

"I know," Sara said.

She nodded, wanting to believe the same, but still her flickers of fear lingered. The last one had cost her.

"Don't worry about it," Nick said. "We'll get you through it. Just take care of yourself."

His hug made her feel better, but moreover she was surprised that he turned out to be right. The group rallied around her, and apart from continuing to ensure that she ate properly – Sara's appetite had never returned full force – they also forbade her from doing any manual labour. Chiefly this wasn't a problem except when the building of their new house was finished, and the time came for them to leave their cheap rental property and move in. It was a modern home with five bedrooms built on the edge of a hill, overlooking the desert valley, and it was perfect, the stuff dreams were made of. Nick and Warrick seized the bulk of the manly duty of lifting furniture, leaving Sara with nothing to do but watch, and even Sofia took the day off work to help out. When it was finished Sara had lifted no more than a teddy bear, and she broke in their new home by having a lay down on the couch, when her morning sickness returned with full force.

Sara knew this was a good sign, that the fact that she felt ill was an indicator that the baby was growing normally, and the twelfth week scan soon passed with no issues. Grissom, relieved and looking as if the weight of the world had been lifted off his shoulders, turned his attention to creating a nursery, and spent his time happily humming and decorating. Sara, who had long resigned from PD, helped out and spent some time shopping and resting, and what followed was a period of blissful relaxation. Catherine, who was growing increasingly bored, went part time to help out with managing the Eclipse, a role that was handed to her on a silver platter, and Warrick, also restless now that he had mentally recovered, was the second to return to PD, and took a role as a casual fill-in CSI, for whenever the lab was stretched. Nick, happy to be married, resigned, and spent a bit of time with Grissom and Sara; and Sofia, who had happily settled back in at PD, fell pregnant six months after Sara.

It was naturally Sara who gave birth first, about a year after their return, on a blustery day in February. Feeling the pains at dawn Grissom took her to hospital, but it wasn't until well into the night that their daughter arrived – squalling with scrunched up fists. Sara, sweaty, bloody and exhausted, slumped back into the bed as her daughter was placed on her chest, and stared down into her soft blue eyes with a feeling of deep heartfelt love that she had never felt before – not even for Grissom.

"Wow," she said.

"She's perfect," Grissom said.

He beamed from ear to ear, and in years to come it was a look that she never forgot, that moment when he took them both in his arms, and kissed her. Furthermore, the notion that she was perfect was one that was widely shared, especially by their friends who were still there after midnight, and briefly stopped in to say goodbye before Sara rested.

"My God!" Catherine cooed, grinning as she took the tiny bundle. "She's so beautiful!"

"She's perfect," Grissom agreed.

"She's tiny," Sofia said, awestruck as she offered the baby her pinky finger, which the baby took in an affectionate fist.

"Man, she's so cute," Nick said, almost teary. "You two make gorgeous babies."

"She has a fuzz of brown hair," Warrick said. "Looks like you, Sara."

"Blue eyes," Catherine said, nodding to Grissom. "She looks like both of you."

"She's perfect," Sara agreed.

She felt sleepy and leaned back into her pillow, utterly exhausted. Her groin still hurt.

"You decide on a name?" Warrick asked.

"Elizabeth," Grissom supplied. "Libby for short."

"Elizabeth," Catherine repeated, nodding and looking down at the baby.

"Elizabeth Sara Grissom," Sara said.

Elizabeth had the one name that Grissom had been attached to, and had been largely unshakeable on. For this reason Sara had agreed to it, also liking the name, and it warmed her heart to see him still grinning as he stood there, a proud family man.

"You guys are incredibly lucky," Nick said, still grinning.

"We know," Grissom agreed.

"You want to hold her?" Catherine asked, offering the baby to Warrick.

"You bet," Warrick said. "I'd love to hold my goddaughter."

The naming of godparents had been the one thing that Sara had been uncertain about, in the initial stages of her pregnancy. It felt cruel that she had four loyal friends and could only name two, and then know that she risked offending those who missed out. But after some discussion it had been sorted: Catherine was named godmother, an obvious choice with her experience in motherhood, and the help she had loaned both of them during Sara's miscarriage. It was Catherine who had largely pulled them through those dark days, and who had been a stalwart guard of their mental health since.

Warrick, too, was Sara's first choice as godfather, not because Nick was unsuitable, but because Warrick had no other family, and would be having no children of his own, with Catherine on the point of menopause. Naming him as godfather Sara knew was something that would deeply affect him, something he would not take lightly, and would also give him a sense of family and connection to the group that he may not have otherwise felt.

The risk of offending Nick and Sofia had been negated by their second decision, which was to name both of them as their child's guardians, in the event of their demise. It was only a few weeks before that they called the two around for a private dinner, and voiced the suggestion, and after staring at them stunned for a moment or two they had looked utterly flattered, and gladly said yes. Sara knew the two were the best choice of parents if anything happened to them, and both assured them that they would raise the child as their own, though they hoped the need would never arise.

Sara looked up at the group now from her hospital bed, and watched as Warrick kissed Libby's forehead, before transferring her to Sofia's arms, who was itching to have a cuddle.

"This will be you soon," Grissom said, nodding to Sofia's abdomen – she was three months' pregnant.

"I know," Sofia said, awestruck.

"I guess the time will fly," Nick said.

"It always does," Catherine said.

"And yet I still can't believe it's ended this well," Warrick ventured. "After all we've been through. Who would've thought it'd end like this? That we're all here, happy and healthy, a new baby …"

"It's worked out for the best," Nick said. "As bad as it was, I'm not sorry."

"Neither am I," Grissom said.

"Not even with the pain it cost?" Catherine asked. "It nearly killed us."

"Not even with that. Despite the pain, the sadness, everything that happened, it changed our lives for the better. I mean, look around, we're all happy now. Sara and I are married, we have a baby, and Nick, you and Sofia have one on the way. That's a blessing. I feel incredibly fortunate to be a part of it."

"You know," Sofia said, moved to be honest, "as much as it sucked out there, as scared as I was, I feel privileged now that it happened. And that I was with you guys."

"We lost our old lives," Catherine said. "But found something even better."

"I'll say," Warrick said. "We found love, a family, the real meaning of life."

"I love you guys," Sara said, feeling emotional and teary. "I'm so lucky to have you."

"And we're lucky to have you," Nick said, reaching to touch her hand. "Every day."

And with the entire group teary, they left it at that.

Not the end - epilogue to come. :)

Feedback will help me get to the end... ;)