AN: Thanks for the Reviews, here is the last chapter, enjoy!

Chapter 17: 20 years later

Sara picked up a picture that had captured one of the best images of her life from the last 20 years, and smiled as she was looking at her second wedding day, particularly her husband, looking as handsome as ever, and now, even in his golden years, he still has a way of making her heart melt like no other.

Sara's thoughts get interrupted when she hears that all to familiar voice, her right hand man when it came to work the last 21 years. "Is this the last box?"

She looked up from the picture and nodded before placing it in the box that was on the desk. "Yeah."

Kevin, now 53 and his hair had a little more gray in it than when they first met, smiled as he picked up the box. "I'll take it for you."

Sara smirked as she grabbed her jacket from the chair. "You know you are not my right hand man anymore."

After 21 years as a supervisor for the San Diego team, and as a CSI working up the ranks for around 17 years on top of that, in San Francisco and Vegas, which majority of that time was in Vegas, Sara Grissom had finally decided to call it a career. She knew no matter how long she worked, crime will always be around, and she felt she had done her part the best that she could do, now it was someone else's turn.

Kevin chuckled before speaking. "I guess old habits die hard." Sara smiled, then he sighed as they started walking towards the door. "You know you'll be missed, it won't be the same around here."

She then smirked again. "I know, you'll finally be the supervisor." He chuckled with a nod before she asked as they stepped out in the hall. "Why did you stay? You had plenty of offers through the years."

As the years went by, Sara was very sure that she was going to lose him to another shift, or she wouldn't have been shocked if had ended up being another lab, he was just too good to not have his own team at some point, but every year that want by he didn't budge one bit, he was with her through thick and thin, and even went through a couple of changes within the team together.

Kevin took a second before he replied truthfully. "That's easy, I liked working with you, I understood the fire that you had on wanting to seek justice. I liked that you cared for your team, and you always had time to listen to us and our theories, instead of just thinking yours was right all the time. And honestly, the biggest thing was that our working chemistry was just too good to mess up. Plus, I felt comfortable, safe even, I knew every time I walked into this lab every morning that you would have my back no matter what, so why leave all of that?"

Feeling a little emotional, she cleared her throat before speaking with a smile, but she was very serious. "I think that's the sweetest thing you ever said to me."

He smiled in return. "Well everything I said is the truth."

She stepped up to him and gave him a hug before whispering. "Thank you, and you are right, our working chemistry was one of the best." As they pulled back, she smirked one more time "I mean there is a reason our lab reached the top 5 in solve rates, right?"

"Of course we are the best." They chuckled one more time, and as they started walking again, he finished. "And I'll continue what we started."

"You better, or I might have to come back and show you how it's done."

They stop at the break room door, and he nodded with one more smile. "Yes, boss."

She smiled in return as he opened the door, and the second she stepped into the room, ex-team members/family members all shouted surprise.

Sara chuckled as she walked fully into the room. "It is really a surprise when I already knew this was happening?"

They all chuckled in return, and after the love of her life handed her a red cup, speeches were said throughout the room, thanking her, complementing her, and congratulating her, and although, like her husband, she didn't particularly like the spotlight, she enjoyed every good thing they had said about her.

When the speeches were done, she took a hold of Grissom's hand and walked them towards a corner in the room, making him ask with a little concern in his eyes. "You ok?"

She nodded with a smile and whispered. "Yeah, but can you just hold me for a minute or two?"

He smiled, his blue eyes still sparkling when looking at her after all this time, before wrapping his arms around her and whispering in her hair. "I'll hold you for as long as you want me to."

She smiled, and as she laid her head against his shoulder, she looked at a particularly group of people who were standing in a circle and laughing.

Like she thought with Kevin about him eventually leaving, but unlike Kevin's choice of staying, she wasn't so lucky with the rest of them, not that she didn't understood their choices, she just missed them, and not only as a valued CSI member, but their presence on a day to day basis as well.

The main group stuck around for a few years after Tim had left, but eventually Devon gained enough skill to lead his own team, so with a heavy heart, he ended up taking the night shift supervisor spot, and him and Mariah had gotten married two years later, their five year old daughter at the time was their flower girl, and two years after that, Mariah was pregnant again and she decided she wanted to be a stay at home mom. Now they've been married 15 years and have three children, their youngest is 12 years old.

Tim and Lindsey tied the knot a year after he had moved to Vegas, and they have two sons, both under 10.

Brad and Becca are also happily married and they have two daughters and a son.

And once Nicole married Kevin after 2 years of dating, she took a spot on the swing shift, eventually becoming a supervisor. Now they've been married 18 years and had twin daughters, and another son, while Carson and Kevin have one of the best father/son relationships Sara has ever seen, just like Kevin had predicted.

Sara moved her eyes over to the next set of people, the people she's known the longest, Nick is still the director of the lab and still happily married to Whitney, who had started walking about 2 years after they married, and the best thing was that they were blessed with a biological daughter, while adopting a son three years later.

Greg and Morgan were both still working at the Vegas lab, still happily married after 20 years, and they were blessed with twin sons.

And while Catharine never had any more children, she's been happily marred for the last 10 years, and enjoys being the grandma that spoils her grandchildren.

Unfortunately they had lost Jim a few years back, but she was proud she got know him.

Before her thoughts could turn darker, they hear the group say. "Hey you made it."

Her and Grissom looked towards the door and saw his cousin smiling while holding her husband's hand as they walked into the room. "Like we would have missed it."

They all chuckled as Stephanie and Jacob, who had just celebrated 40 years together, headed towards Sara and Grissom, and as they got closer, Sara stepped back from her husband so she could give a hug to Stephanie, which she wasn't only her cousin by marriage but she was the best female friend she ever had. Not that she didn't enjoy or treasure the friendships she had gained with her female colleagues, but Stephanie just understood her more than any other woman has. Plus, they had a lot in common and liked each others company without it getting awkward at any point.

After the women pulled back from their hugs, Grissom and Stephanie smiled at one another before hugging, while Sara and Jacob shared a hug, then when the cousins pulled back, Grissom asked. "So, the kids are still coming tonight?"

He says kids, but like everybody, they've gotten older too, D.J. is now 28, and like his father, took up counseling, he also teaches the deaf and is dating a fellow counselor. Stephen is 26, who is now a journalist that travels a lot, and Alexandra is 21 and will be in her Senior year at UCLA when school starts again.

Stephanie smiled with a nod. "Yeah, at least that's the plan, thank you for inviting us."

Grissom waved it off. "No problem."

Like they did for most summers these days, the Grissom family rents a beach house for a few weeks, sometimes a month.

After they nodded, the four of them walked to the group and they start talking and laughing about old times, then after a bit, people started leaving, and when it was just Sara and Grissom in the room, Grissom looked at Sara for a second. "You ready?"

She gave him a small smile before asking. "Can I have a few minutes?"

He nodded with a smile in return and kissed her temple before walking towards the door to the room and walked out, Sara watched him before looking around the room, then stopped her eyes at the conference table, imagining her first time talking to her new team.

Flashback

21 years ago

Sara walked towards the door to the break room for her first day at the San Diego lab, but before she walked inside, she stopped and took a breath first, and when she did step in the room, the team had stopped talking the second they saw her, so she smirked a little. "Well, that can't be a good sign, you stopped talking the minute I walked in." Mariah smirked a little, but it became silent not long after that, so Sara cleared her throat before speaking again. "Before I begin handing out your assignment sheets, I just wanted to say a few words. I know that you all expected to see Mr. Woods as your supervisor, but instead you get an outsider, and I get it,
believe me. But I just wanted to point out that we are on the same team, wanting to do the same thing, and my title may have boss in it, but that doesn't mean I won't do my share, you can bet on it. In fact, I can almost guarantee that I'll be the first to come in the morning and the last one to leave in the afternoon or evening, and if there is ever a problem, don't hesitate on asking me for advice or just to talk, I'll always try my best to help you, I give you my word. So let's get on to it, shall we?"

After they all nodded in return, Sara handed out the assignments, then she turned and started walking out, but before she left the room, Nicole spoke. "Ms. Sidle." Sara turned around and looked at the younger woman as she continued with a smile. "Welcome to the team, we will do all that we can to help you seek the justice our victims deserve."

She looked at the faces of her young team, seeing the determination in all of them, and she nodded with a smile. "Thank you, and I have no doubts that if we work together, we will go far. Now let's get out there and show these criminals what we can do."

The team stood up with cheers and smiles, and after a shared nod and smile between her and Kevin, Sara walked out with a smile on her face, having no doubts about her ability to lead this team after that display.

End of Flashback

Sara smiled as she turned around and walked out of the room for the last time, or at least not daily anymore, meeting her husband at his vehicle before he drove them towards the familiar beach house.

After walking in the medium sized house with four bedrooms, he asked with a smile. "You want some tea?"

She nodded with a smile in return. "Yeah, I'll meet you out on the back deck."

"Ok."

When it was done, and Grissom had picked up the glasses, he walked, albeit a little slower these days but can still move on his own, outside, and once he handed Sara's hers, he sits down in the chair next to her before they took sips of their drink, settling in a quiet and calmness atmosphere.

Ten minutes went by with a little small talk before they heard a male voice from inside the house after opening the front door. "Mom, dad?"

Sara smiled brightly when she heard that beautiful voice, which was almost the sound of her husband's, as she turned her head so she was speaking through the screen door. "Yeah, out on the deck."

A few seconds later, instead of seeing their 20 year old son first, a 12 year old girl with bright brown eyes, with braided light brown hair, smiled as she rushed towards Sara. "Mommy."

Sara's bright brown eyes sparkled in return as she brought her daughter into her arms. "Hi, honey."

Amy Grissom became a member of the family at the age of two after her biological parents died in a brutal home invasion/robbery. They never knew why this sweet little girl was spared since the suspect was dead by the time the team found him, but Sara got one look at the little girl and she was instantly smitten, so by the time the case was done and no family members came forward, which by then Grissom was completely smitten as well, they agreed to adopt her.
And the best thing of all about that situation was that she resembled them enough, especially Sara, that there wasn't hardly any questions on who her biological parents were. Of course Amy knew because Grissom and Sara wanted to be completely honest with her so they told her, but that never changed how she viewed them, or loved them any less. In fact, it only made her love them more, because they choose her to love for the rest of their lives when realistically they could have chosen another child if they wanted to.

As mother and daughter were pulling back, Sara asked with a smile. "So, did you have fun at the movies with your brother?"

Since her brother promised that they could spend the day together, something that's happened more since he moved out of the house, he took her to the movies.

The little girl's face beamed while she nodded. "Yeah, especially when Roxanne showed up, and they were holding hands in the dark."

While Amy greeted her father, Sara looked towards the doorway and raised an eyebrow at her son, which he shyly smiled in return as she asked. "When did this happen?"

With Roxanne Murray being only two months older than him, they naturally became best friends as they were growing up, but neither Sara and Grissom, or Mariah and Devon thought that they would become more than that.

Warrick Arthur Grissom, built like his mother in the body structure and hair color department, while having his father's height, eyes and smile, cleared his throat before answering shyly.
"Not very long, I guess we needed to be separated to know how we really feel about one another." With Roxanne going to New York City Arts, and him staying closer to home and joining his cousin in UCLA, they don't see one another as often as they did growing up, but they still talk a lot.

He saw his mother about to speak, but he continued before she could. "And yes we are taking things slow, don't need to worry."

Sara nodded with a smile. "That's good to know."

He nodded with a smile as he walked up to his mother, and after giving her a hug, he asked. "So how as your last day at work?"

Sara sighed and spoke as she shard a smile with her husband, who had Amy on his lap, before looking at her considerate and loving son. "It was a little sad, and it will be different not going to the lab everyday and seeing them, but it was time."

He nodded again before smirking, a trait he got from both parents. "It's not like you won't see everybody again, after all they are like family."

They chuckled with nods of agreement before Sara spoke again after clearing her throat. "And speaking of family, your cousins will be here very soon, so can you and your sister please change the sheets in two of the rooms?"

He nodded while Grissom gave his daughter a kiss on the cheek before she got off his lap, then as Grissom and Warrick shared a hug and a handshake, they all hear Amy singing. "Roxanne and Warrick sitting in a tree, k-i-s-s-i-n-g, first comes love..."

As she was continuing, Warrick smirked one more time as he removed his hand from his father's. "I hope you are satisfied with one child." Then he turned around and the look he was giving his sister was a mixture between a playful glare and smile, stopping her singing before she ran inside as Warrick went after her. "You better run, I'm going to get you."

A few seconds later, Sara and Grissom hear a loud giggle, making them chuckle as they looked at one another, and instead of her sitting down in the chair next to him again, she settled on his lap and he wrapped his arms around her and kissed her temple before speaking as they looked out towards the ocean. "So, Mrs. Grissom, as late bloomer parents, I say we didn't do too bad."

She slipped her fingers through his and snuggled closer to him, if that was even possible as she whispered. "I believe you are right Mr. Grissom, and it's been the best 20 years of my life, I'm glad I got to share it all with you."

Not every day was picture perfect, but just like they vowed, they stuck by one another and worked together on what ever problem they had, and they only became a stronger couple for it.

He kissed her temple again before whispering. "Me too, honey. I love you."

Feeling up with emotion, she whispered in return. "I love you too, babe."

And while at times it almost seemed impossible that they would be here like this, enjoying these sweet moments together while hearing their kids laughing, they couldn't have asked for a better life, and with another chapter of their lives closing, they are ready to start and see where this new beginning will take them.

AN: Please Review. Well, there you have it, I hope at least overall you enjoyed it, a special thanks to those who stuck by me and the story, I really appreciate it very much, you really kept me motivated on updating.

I will be back with new stories soon, so I hope you are all happy about that, but in the meantime you can go back and enjoy any of my other stories :)

Until then, I hope you have a safe and wonderful week, and always remember GSR4ever!