AN: Thanks for the reviews, support and kind words, they meant a lot to me. Here is the next chapter.

Chapter 2: Packing up

Sara pulled Grissom's rented vehicle on the gravel driveway before stopping in front of the garage to Mrs. Grissom's home, which was a white, one story, two bedroom house with a chain link fence around it with beautiful flowers in the flowerbed that she loved tending to almost as much as dealing with art, but never more than her son, or her late husband for that matter. They both were her whole world.

When the vehicle was turned off, Grissom turned his head to the right to look out the window to see the yard and flowerbed before he thought back to when he was younger and how whenever he needed to 'talk' to his mother about something, he seemed to always find her in the flowerbed, and she always stopped what she was doing to help him out with whatever he needed, she always had time for him.

He cleared his throat and mentally shook his head as he opened the passenger door and got out, Sara silently following his lead.

Once the doors were shut, he lead them to the gate on the right before he opened it and started walking up the walkway until stepping up the few steps to the small porch, then he stopped at the front door before pulling out the house keys from his pants pocket.

When the door was unlocked, he took a few more seconds before opening the door and stepping in the quiet house.

With him being in the city for a few days now, he had obviously been here before today, but being in this house now, when everything felt so final, was harder than the previous days he was here.

After he stepped far enough in the living room to allow room for Sara to come in, he stopped as memories from his childhood came flooding back.

Sara cleared her throat a few minutes later before asking, breaking him from his memories. "What can I do to help?"

He cleared his throat before answering. "If you don't mind, can you start packing up the things in here?"

Besides the furniture in the spacious room, there were family pictures and different art paintings hanging on the walls, sitting on the shelves and on the end tables that were by the couch, love seat and recliner. A few bookshelves with more books than movies on it, which would never surprise Sara since their bookshelf had looked, and still does, the same way. Little knack knacks, and a TV, which wasn't the oldest thing in the world, but it certainly was a few decades old. Mrs. Grissom just cared more about other things than the type of TV she watched her shows on, which wasn't very often anyways.

Sara nodded as she spoke. "Of course."

He nodded in return as he started walking toward the back of the living room, then when he hit the dinning room, he turned to the left to go through the kitchen, and after opening a door to the utility room, he walked in and pulled out different sized boxes with some bubble wrap and newspaper.

After grabbing all that they needed, he steeled his emotions before heading for his mom's room, so he could start packing up things in there.

A few hours later

After awhile Sara started to get a little hungry, and knowing Grissom like she did, he probably hadn't had much to eat in the last few days, and probably nothing at all today, which she didn't necessarily blame him, but while she was around she was going to make sure he had something, she didn't need him passing out.

With that thought in mind, she packed the books she had in her hand before walking to the back of the living room, but before stepping in the dinning room, she turned to the right, where a hall was and walked down it, passing a closet on her right, then the bathroom on her left, his childhood room across from it, then at the end of the hall, his mother's room was on the left while a bigger closet than the first one she had passed was across from it.

She stopped in the opened doorway to Betty's room and saw Grissom sitting on the bed with his back toward her and head bent down, looking at something, Sara would guess. She did notice there were a few boxes closed and taped, so it wasn't like he had been sitting on the bed the whole time, but whatever he was looking at had obviously stopped his progress.

She took a breath while her heart still broke for him, then knocked on the door frame before asking. "I'm getting a little hungry, so what do you want to eat?" She saw his back rise up from a silent sigh or taking a breath, but before he could speak, she continued. "And don't bother telling me you aren't hungry. When was the last time you had something filling?"

He paused before standing up, then he turned around to look at her with a small smile. "You're right. I can eat something." As she nodded with a small smile in return, he started walking toward the door, placing the picture frame he had in his hand on top of the box that was at the end of the bed before walking towards her and stepping out in the hall. Their hearts raced a little as his shoulder skimmed hers a little as he passed her in the doorway.

Sara stood there for a few seconds before the CSI part of her came out. She was very curious to know what picture his attention was on when she had stopped in the doorway, so she took a step in the room and walked over to the box where the picture frame was laying down.

Then when she was there, she looked down, and once she saw that he had been looking at their wedding picture, a bunch of different emotions were going through her all at once.

But before she could think of all that she felt and why, she heard his soft voice. "She told me the day she opened her email and saw that picture it was the best day of her life, of course outside of marrying my dad and my birth, because she was seeing the peak of my happiness in my eyes. After she put it in a frame, she placed it on her nightstand that same day, where its been by her bedside ever since."

She cleared her throat to get the emotion out before looking over at him. "Really?"

"Of course. Things may have started ruff between you two, but she learned to love you, Sara. She really did."

Trying to hold onto her emotions after hearing that, she continued. "I...Uh...I just thought that she blamed me for what happened."

Things were good between her and her mother-in law for a little bit after they fixed their differences, but then she moved back here and their communication eventually died down, so Sara had assumed that she had blamed her for what had happened between her and her son.

He sighed and shook his head. "I wouldn't say she blamed you entirely. She blamed me too, more in fact." He shrugged as he finished. "It was just hard 'talking' about it, so we hardly did. Plus our conversations always seemed to be cut short and we didn't want to end them on a bad note." She nodded in understanding, then after a seconds pause, he steered the conversation to a safer subject, the reason he came back in here. "There are items for egg sandwiches, you interested?"

Sara gave him a little with a nod. "Yeah, that sounds good. I'll help." He gives her nod before turning around and walking out of the room.

She looked back down at the picture that represented the best day of her life, but before the memories from the past started coming, which she's been doing a pretty good job at stopping them so far since she's been near him, she shook her head and took a breath before walking out of the room.

Once their sandwiches were made with a side of potato salad, they ate in the dinning room in completely silence that had a little tension in it.

Then when she was done, she was getting up from the spot that was across from him while he finally he spoke. "Thank you Sara." Their eyes met as he continued. "Thank you for being here, helping me out. After everything that had happened between us, I know I don't.. ..."

Sara cuts him off as she shook her head. "Grissom, let's not go there today, ok? This isn't the time for that."

A part of her would love to finally talk about it and get all of that out in the open, but he had just lost his mother and she would feel it would be too insensitive. Plus, she figured its been a few years now, so what's another day or two.

Grissom nodded. "Ok, and you're right, you seemed to be right a lot...I really hate that, you know."

As he said that last part there was a twinkle in his eyes and a smirk on his face, which had been missing the whole time she's been around him, and it told her that he was joking with her.

She gave him a little smile in return with a smirk of her own. "I know." Then she started to walk to the kitchen before he could say anything else, but he still had a small smile on his face, the first real one he had in a long time. He could almost say since before his personal life became a complete mess.

He mentally shook his head and took a breath as he pushed the chair back so he could get up and clean up before they continued with the packing.

Later that night

When they did all they could that night, Grissom walked back into the living room. "We should try and get some sleep." As Sara nodded, Grissom continued. "Do you need anything to sleep in?"

He assumed that her and the group was only in town for that day because most of them worked the night shift, so he never would have thought that they had packed a bag with any sleeping clothes in it, if they had packed a bag at all.

Sara shook her head while walking over to the left side of the couch before lifting up her
medium-sized carry-on bag that her team had left by the car before they had left the site.

He raised an eyebrow when her bag was in view as she smirked. "When have you ever known me to not be prepared for anything?"

He couldn't help but show a little smile on his face again, then he shook his head and couldn't help but smirk a little back. "Alright. So unless you have an air mattress in there too, you need a place to sleep." She gave him a glare, but the smile tugging on her lips told him that she wasn't at all angry with what he said. "So what room do you want?"

She didn't even hesitate, knowing where she would feel the most comfortable. "I'll just sleep on the couch."

"You sure?" After another nod, he nodded back. "Ok, I'll get some clean sheets and pillows for you."

"Thank you."

He gave her a little nod before he walked down the hall to the bigger closet and pulled out sheets, a blanket and a few pillows, then when he walked back into the living room, he sets them on the coffee table before looking into her eyes. "If you need anything I'll be in my room, and if you get thirsty or whatever, it is all available to you. I Hope you have a good night's sleep."

Sara nodded. "You too, and once again, thank you."

He gave her another nod while replying this time. "You're welcome."

After one more look between them, he made sure the front and back doors were locked before walking down the hall to his room, so he could get ready for bed.

When he was ready and had laid down in his twin bed, he turned toward the wall, which if the closet wasn't next to his bedroom the living room would be, then he placed his palm on it and whispered. "Goodnight Sara." And closed his eyes.

Once Sara was ready for bed and had laid down on the now made-up couch, she turned so she was facing the back cushions, then she didn't know why she felt like doing it, but she placed her hand above them so the palm of her hand was on the wall as she whispered. "Goodnight Griss." Before closing her eyes.

Then despite the sadness in them, more so in Grissom, and a lot of thoughts running their
minds that could have kept them awake if they had really let them, it didn't take them long to fall asleep, letting the exhaustion side take them over instead.

AN: Last Chapter next, find out what happens between them. Will they be together or apart for good? Please review.