Sara found herself checking into the front desk of the San Fransisco Crime Lab for the first time in over six years. The lady at the front desk seemed vaguely familiar to her but she wasn't sure as she approached the wooden barrier to the lab. Unlike Las Vegas, visitors had to be buzzed back and only if they weren't turned away immediately. It seemed like nothing had changed in the building but Sara knew unlike Las Vegas, SFPD weren't as well funded because while crime did happen, it wasn't as insane as Vegas.

"Hi, how can I help you?" The woman asked before turning around. "Sara? Sara Sidle?"

Sara put up her hand. "Hi, I'm so sorry, but I forgot your name."

"Nellie, it's okay. I think I was hired a few weeks before you left." She looked down when Sara put her badge on the desk and a paper. "Are you coming back? To San Francisco I mean?"

"No, I'm here to help Dr. Grissom. He requested a lab tech a few days before and I'm who they sent." She pushed the badge and paper forward. "This is from my supervisor and my lab credentials."

Nellie pulled the paper through the slot and read it before nodding. "Okay, looks like the correct form so give me a few moments." She turned and left the form and badge so Sara waited but was approached by an officer.

"Miss, you're to sit down until she returns."

"Oh. Sorry." Sara stated and moved to sit down in a chair.

It took ten minutes but Nellie returned and called her name again. "Sara." She looked up from her phone where she was texting Catherine that she'd arrived at the lab and may get a call. Standing, she walked over to the desk. "We're issuing you a lab advisor badge but we'll need an updated picture. This one looks like it hasn't been updated in years and we update them yearly here."

"Oh. Do you need one sent or should I go to PD?" She didn't know what she should do.

"Do you have a picture from within the last year?"

Sara looked confused. "On me?"

"With your family, anything really."

"No. I mean, Dr. Grissom does, but that could be a little awkward to ask." She looked down at her phone. "Is he in the building? I can call him."

Nellie shrugged. "I'm sorry, I don't know."

"Give me a few moments." Sara walked away from the desk and sat down in a chair. The line rang after she dialed the first number on a speed dial and she heard a familiar voice. "Hey."

"Sara, I called you earlier but the call didn't go through. My text either. Are you okay?" He sounded worried.

She nodded despite him not seeing her. "Yeah, I was on a plane is all. Something happened with the West case and when you requested a lab tech, Catherine sent me. I'm at the lab's entrance but they want an updated photo of me to issue an ID. We don't update ours as often as SFPD does."

"I'll be there in two minutes. Just wait."

Sara smiled, "I'm not planning on going anywhere."

"Just wait. I'll be right there."

The call ended and as she walked to the edge of the desk, the door to be buzzed through opened. Sara smiled when she saw him and walked forward. Immediately she was wrapped in a hug and she closed her eyes feeling him hold her, hand against her head. Eventually they pulled apart and she smiled at him. He looked her up and down, as if acerating she was okay.

"I'm okay. You couldn't have been that worried."

"You never not answer me. Unless you're in court and I know about those times." He reached into his back pocket and removed his wallet, opening it to remove a picture that was in a card slot. It was one he'd taken of her on one of their many camping trips. In it she was smiling at him but had a spark in her eyes according to him. "I think you need this."

"Thanks." She walked the five feet and found Nellie smiling. "I think you need this."

"Yes. That'll do. Just give me two minutes."

Sara turned back to Grissom. "So, come to a conference and stay for a case? That's something I would do. I'm guessing you only told Catherine because you had to clear it with her?"

"Basically. I would have told you but she had the luxury." He watched her face, "what happened with the West Case?"

"It's too long a situation to talk about in five minutes. I'll tell you tonight at the hotel." She grasped his lab advisor badge. "So strange, they never used to have these if they were visiting CSIs. Only visitors that didn't have their own badges."

"Apparently a year after you left, they had an impersonator using a fake foreign lab badge. Destroyed evidence so now they require more than a badge at face value. Ecklie nearly went through the phone as I sat with the lab director attempting to get in. The director knows of me but apparently a temporary loan form was requested."

Sara chuckled, "well Ecklie must have considered it an insult that you're the best entomologist in the country and you got questioned on your own identity. It probably made him feel like they thought he was an idiot for hiring you."

"Probably." He put his hand on her waist and looked over at the desk where the receptionist was. "The lab is very dated. I needed someone to help me because while I'm helping them, they aren't able to give me anyone to assist me."

"I told you that six years ago." She stated with her hand cupping the elbow of the arm that held her waist. "You never believed me."

He caught her attention. "Everything is dated, I'm seeing equipment we've changed out at least four times."

"Well, San Francisco isn't Vegas. It has to break for them to fix it and that's only after they have no choice due to a DA questioning why it hasn't been replaced. Usually it's repair over replace." She chuckled, "now you feel spoiled, don't you?"

"No," he smiled at her, "I'm glad I stole you."

Sara shook her head and turned as her name was called. She walked over and Nellie slid the badge to her. "Here you go. It'll work on the badge locks at the lab's entrance around back. It has an expiration date that has been entered in the system and will need to be turned back over to us once you leave." Nellie smiled at her, "welcome back to SFPD, Sara."

"Thank you."

Grissom stood by the door as she joined him and the woman buzzed them through. "So many people have asked if you were in Las Vegas still or at Quantico."

"Yeah, I talked about heading to Quantico, remember?" She saw him think then nod. "I had a reason to stay in Vegas though, so Quantico, I'll let the new kids aim for that." They walked down the long hall that would lead to the lab. "Nick has Hank, apparently he's thrilled to have a friend to play with. Disappeared into the backyard without saying goodbye to me."

"Well, accord to Catherine, that's normal for kids when not with their parents."

Sara chuckled. "Admit it, you missed him too and not just me."

"I admit nothing." He told her as he opened the door to the lab and they walked through.

Sara found herself looking down the hallway that lead to the various offices of the lab. It was mostly cinderblock walls and looked ancient. Despite being ancient, it was familiar to her so she motioned for him to go ahead "You first, you know where you're stationed at the current moment."

"Dillard will probably want to see you. They probably told him you arrived when you handed off your loan form."

"I'd rather take a dozen suspensions from Ecklie than talk to that guy." She stated and started down the hall. "I know where his office is, unfortunately."

They approached a doorway that split into several offices and Sara knocked on an opened one. The man at the desk looked up from his computer and waved her in. "Sara Sidle, haven't seen you in years." He motioned to the chair in front of his desk, "sit, sit." Grissom stood against the wall within his hands in his pockets as he watched her sit down. "So, please tell me, I can convince you to return?"

"Not possible." She told him, "but thank you for the offer."

He nodded as he sat on the edge of the desk. "Well I just got your loan paperwork and we're happy to have you as long as you're here. Now, I will say that Dr. Grissom was just telling me yesterday how much of an amazing CSI you're turning out to be. I had my doubts considering how reserved you were with anything beyond lab work but apparently, Vegas brought out the best in you."

Sara's smile was tight. "I was just given more of a chance to find my rhythm. Less barriers keeping me back."

"Oh." He looked up to Grissom. "Are things different from here?"

"Our CSIs are given choice of cases and rotate partners. Level 3s also have a chance to do solo assignments and choice of continued education. We require mandatory vacation time." Grissom told him. "We keep formality out of the lab so while minimal socialization happens on the clock, it does happen. Lunches, helping one another with lab work no matter a case's CSIs, birthdays. Breakfast together is commonplace once a week. If you know your coworkers, you work better together."

Dillard nodded. "I see, well that's got to keep things chaotic, right? People coming and going?"

"We've only had additions to our team since Sara joined, no losses." Grissom told him, "our team is a family. Conflict is present at times certainly but the end of the day, we have each other's backs." He motion to Sara, "Sara has even had a trainee of her own. Our DNA tech went from lab to CSI Level I under Sara's tutelage."

"Oh." Dillard seemed unable to say anything else to that.

Grissom watched as Sara glanced back at him, eyes begging him to get her out of there, and then back at Dillard. "I thought I would show Sara what I'm working on regarding the…"

Dillard cut him off. "I'm sure she wants to get settled in the trace lab."

"Actually, I'm here to help Dr. Grissom." Sara smiled politely. "Given he's an entomologist, I suspect it has to with an entomological timeline."

"You're a trace scientist." He stated as Sara stood.

She nodded, "here. After Dr. Grissom and the coroner, I'm the go to for anything past instar stage in Las Vegas lab. Thank you for the concern though." She paused in the doorway and shot Grissom a look before walking into the hall.

Grissom nodded to her before looking to the director. "Director Dillard." He turned to leave but was stopped.

"Dr. Grissom, I'm sure you respect that there is a method to our madness here. Miss Sidle, while accomplished, is a trace scientist. She belongs in the trace lab while she's here. Feel free to consult with her all you'd like but I can't just let her run around like she's any CSI or they'll all be up in arms."

"I can respect that, but I requested a lab tech and my director saw fit to send Sara. If I sent for help, given that you aren't able to loan me anyone to help me, I'm going to use who was sent. I'm sure you can understand that given you asked for my help, I'm not going to have my CSI sitting here running your lab's case evidence load. Sara may have worked here once upon a time but she's a Las Vegas CSI under the supervision of Catherine Willows and directorship of Conrad Ecklie. If I report back even a hint of abuse of her skills, or Sara does, my lab will never send someone else here ever again. No matter how big the case. That includes me." Grissom motioned to him. "I don't think you want that."

Dillard nodded. "Of course not."

"Also, if Sara goes, I go. So respect towards her would be appreciated."

The man looked confused. "I'm not understanding."

"I watched you sit here trying to play nice but insulted her, her accomplishments, and her skills. You aren't aware of what your lab management practices do to people of Sara's intelligence. I know because I saw it from the time I first met her when she was my student, till the time I offered her a spot of my team." Grissom paused at the door. "You try to fit them into nice little boxes but the ones that can carry your lab, they don't fit in boxes. They thrive in chaos. That's why she worked for you six years and stalled but with my lab she's thrived, trained new CSIs, and has some big cases to her name." He motioned between them, "she's worked with us for the same amount of time. Remember that."

"You act like she's more intelligent than you or I."

Grissom turned once in the hall. "Because she is. Sara learns and understands more than you or I ever will. Just because she doesn't have multiple letters behind her name doesn't mean she's not more intelligent than us. Sometimes the most intelligent people are the most common."

Searching for Sara in the lab was a fruitless endeavor because a quick inquiry to a tech, one he knew was aware of who Sara was, had him directed outside to the picnic bench on the edge of the parking lot. They mentioned she probably went out to smoke not realizing she had quit long ago. He found her looking out across the bay from the weird little hill the lab sat on. "How bad did you blow up on him?"

"I didn't." He stated as he stood beside her and turned to see her giving him a look of contradiction. "I just told him the truth. If he attempts to use you to further their lab's case load instead of you being here to help me and word gets back to Ecklie, neither of us would be allowed back. I also told him that if you go, I go, so he'd better show you some respect."

Sara smiled before turning back out to the sight in front of them. "You always did have a way of threatening without threatening."

"I may have also mentioned his lab management practices being the reason his lab personnel are stunted. That the best thrive in chaos instead of fitting into boxes."

"Oh I'm sure he loved that." She shook her head, "what did he say to that?"

Grissom moved closer to her but didn't touch her. "Implied I was suggesting you were more intelligent than the both of us. I told him you were."

"So modest." She smirked, "come on, why don't we get back to work so we can get some sleep sometime this evening."

"I've been told I have to be out of the lab by seven every day."

Sara nodded as they started walking back to the building. "No overtime. Forgot that is actually a thing."

"We can't work but it doesn't mean we have to stay at the hotel."

"I like where your mind is." She smiled at him, "the question I have is, where are you taking me?"