AN: Long time no see! After many years, I have finally gotten a new chapter written. And *crosses fingers* I think I will have the story done by the end of the year. I have a fairly good idea of what the rest of the story looks like and I'm guessing there's probably around 5 chapters left.

In other news, I did go through & edit the first 11 chapters before posting this. Mostly just some grammar errors & typos, but I did change a couple things here & there, that I thought sounded better/made more sense.

I know nothing much really happens in this chapter, but it was kind of a necessary filler to get to the next part, so I hope you like it.

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Grissom sighed in relief when Catherine's car finally pulled up almost an hour later. He had been debating with himself since Catherine's phone call what he was going to say to Lacey and he still had no idea. She had had him worried sick when he had no idea where she was, though he was fairly certain she hadn't done it intentionally. Both of them had been under a lot of stress and it was bound to erupt sooner or later.

He watched Lacey climb out of the car and say something briefly to Catherine before shutting the door and watching her drive off. 'I guess she thought we should work this out ourselves,' he thought. Meeting Lacey at the door, he gestured her in. She walked in and made her way to the couch, slumping down on it, looking utterly defeated. "Lacey…" he started, but was interrupted.

Lacey's head shot up when she heard her name and he could see the tears swimming in her eyes. "I'm so sorry, Uncle Gil. I know it was really stupid of me to just leave like that."

"Yes, it was. I had no idea where you had gone or when you would back. I was worried sick! I know you were upset, but you can't just take off like that," Grissom said sternly. He wasn't going to punish her for this, but he wanted to make sure that she understood that it wasn't okay.

Lacey nodded. "I know and I promise, I'll never do it again. I just, I needed to think and be by myself for a little while, but I should have just stayed in the neighborhood and kept better track of the time."

"Yes, you should have. Working at the crime lab, I see what can happen to someone in Vegas, and I don't think I could bear it if anything happened to you."

Lacey nodded again, choking out, "I really am sorry, Uncle Gil."

"I know you are," he replied. "And I know you didn't do it on purpose, but you need to think things through before you do them." Once Lacey had nodded yet again, he continued, "I was thinking, though, that it would probably be a good idea to go look at some new places this weekend. You can't sleep on the couch forever."

Lacey smiled weakly. "Thanks, Uncle Gil. That sounds like a good idea."

Grissom returned her smile. "Well, I've got to get to work. You'll be okay here by yourself?"

"Yeah, Uncle Gil. I'll be fine," Lacey replied. "I'm pretty tired. I think I'll just go to bed early."

Grissom gave her a quick kiss on the top of the head. "Have a good night."

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Catherine was waiting for Grissom in her office, just like he knew she would be. "Everything all right?" she asked.

"I think so. We talked about it and she knows what she did was stupid. I know she didn't do it intentionally. Part of the problem is she doesn't have her own space at my place, which is why we're going to look for a new one this weekend."

"That sounds like a good idea," she replied. Noticing his slightly hangdog expression, she patted the space on the couch next to her. Once he was settled, she turned to face him. "Gil, you're doing fine. It's going to take a while for you two to adjust. And there's always going to be moments like this. Two people that live together cannot get along all of the time. It happens. But as long as you both keep trying, it'll be fine."

"Thanks, Cath," Grissom replied, smiling slightly. His smile disappeared just as quickly though before he asked, "Did Lacey tell you this all started because Robert showed up at my place and told her he'd been brought in for questioning?"

"What?" Catherine asked in surprise. "No, she just said that you two had had an argument. I can't believe that little shit actually showed up at your place."

"I know," Grissom growled. "Started a fight in my living room with some boy that Lacey was tutoring."

Catherine raised her eyebrows. This kid certainly wasn't the brightest bulb. "Well, I'm going to have another talk with Robert's father. See if I can get him to convince Robert to give up his fingerprints voluntarily. Otherwise we really don't have much to go on."

Grissom sighed, leaning his head back against the couch. The only evidence they had to go on was the bloody handprint on the back door. That was it. No murder weapon. No witnesses. Nothing but a handprint. Grissom didn't know what he would do if they didn't find the killer. He knew it happened. They couldn't solve every case. But this wasn't just any case. This was his sister. He couldn't stand knowing that whoever killed her might get away with it.

"Gil?" Catherine questioned, a little worried for her friend. Most of the time, he seemed to be dealing with everything all right, but she knew he must be holding a lot inside. He always did. 'Well,' she resolved to herself. 'This time I'm not going to let him.'

Grissom managed a small quirk of his lips. "Let's get to work," he said, standing.

"Okay," she replied, holding her hand out for him to pull her up. Now wasn't the time, but later… 'Later, I'll make sure he talks.'