Making lunches for work, Sara looked up when Grissom stood behind her and lifted a necklace over her head. Reaching up to hold her hair to the side, she felt as he clasped it and then rearranged her hair back in place. Glancing down at the necklace, Sara realized it was a silver locket with small silver beads spaced periodically on the chain.

"It's a little early but I didn't think you'd mind." He kissed her cheek.

"Where is the receipt?" She asked as she turned to him.

"On your desk. Under three hundred, well under your limit."

Sara fingered the locket, "what's inside?"

"Nothing yet." Grissom took her hand and brought it up to his lips, kissing her knuckles. "What you put inside is up to you."

"Alright Romeo, help me get these finished so we can head out."

Sitting in the booth as they just realized Nick's truck had been stolen in some way. Both guys looked at her and her brow furrowed. Greg was the one to speak since Nick seemed speechless and unable to say anything since he was trying to process the situation.

"You should call Grissom."

"Why me?" She asked him.

"Because he won't yell at you." Nick stated, finally able to speak.

Sara motioned to Nick as she pulled her phone from her waist. "Just so you know, this is your fault. You should have secured the evidence at the lab."

"I know." Nick pulled his phone. "I got to call my insurance people since I have a tracking system on the truck."

Sara pushed him and he stood up, letting her get past since she planned to take the call outside. Nick sat back down as she headed out of the diner, waving her phone to the waitress who stood at the counter. The woman nodded to her, knowing Sara wouldn't just leave without paying. Getting outside, Sara hit a number on her speed dial and the call connected.

"Hey, I noticed you guys weren't back yet." He sounded calm, "breakfast?"

Pushing her hair back with a hand, Sara looked at the parking lot. "Yeah, Greg and I were having breakfast and then Nick joined us. He didn't drop the evidence off at the lab but instead decided to stop and eat."

"I'll speak to him when he gets back."

"Yeah, about that." Sara stated with hesitancy. "Someone stole Nick's car, evidence and all."

"Repeat what you just said Sara."

She hissed. "You heard me correctly."

"Where are you?"

"Frank's, I already plan on us not leaving until you and Brass get here. I suspect you're going to be informing the Undersheriff."

Grissom was silent for a few moments before speaking. "Just stay there."

"That's the plan."

Sara found herself writing her account while Greg and Nick wrote theirs on either side of her. She and Nick had spoken about their time at the scene but Greg hadn't yet. Sara had wanted him to focus on his report since he got sidetracked very easily. As soon as she finished her account, she changed the page and started writing everything she'd collected.

"I have a question for you Sara." Nick looked at her, "does Grissom know you flirt with other men?"

Sara chuckled, "I'm allowed to flirt if I want. He knows he has nothing to worry about."

"I'd be worried." Greg told her. "You're you."

"We've had unrequited love for each other for years. After all that time, we aren't looking for anyone else." A smile fell across her face. "It may only be a year right now, but it's one year closer to the rest of our lives."

Greg looked up, "are you two planning on getting married soon?"

"Nope." Sara told him bluntly. "We are not getting married. Domestic partners yes, parents possibly, but married, no."

"Grissom as a dad," Nick shook his head, "I just can't picture it."

"Are you kidding." Greg looked over at his friend and colleague. "It's Sara I can't picture as a parent. Grissom, definitely, but not Sara."

"Gee, thanks Greg."

Catherine was looking throughout the lab but she couldn't find Sara. She prayed Sara wouldn't have left given they were still waiting for IAB. The locker room was empty, as was the garage and the various labs. Greg and Nick were in the breakroom playing a video game, that she'd ended the minute she saw it. They had no idea where Sara was.

"Hey Grissom." Catherine stuck her head in his office. "You see Sara lately?"

He pointed towards the corner of his office before going back to the paperwork he was working on. Catherine walked into the office and turned towards the corner to see Sara curled up in the chair with a blanket over her. She chuckled as she walked over to shake the woman awake. How a tall person like Sara curled up into a little ball surprised her. Reaching out a hand, she shook Sara gently and the woman blinked awake. "IAB here?"

"No but bomb squad cleared the convertible. It's was just dropped off."

"Finally, something to process." She uncurled herself and pushed the blanket aside.

Once she was out of the office, Catherine looked at Grissom. "How often does she fall asleep in here?"

"Occasionally."

"Well, now I know where to look when she disappears." Catherine shook her head. "How does she curl up in a ball?"

Grissom shrugged. "Sara maybe tall but she's limber. Contorting herself into a ball to fall asleep isn't that hard for her."

"I guess that makes sense considering she's always on roofs and under cars." Catherine left the office.

Sitting down eating a meager dinner, the three of them spoke about how they think things went when Grissom walked into the breakroom. He walked around the table till he stood at the end. All three looked at them and Sara put her sandwich down.

"You paged."

Greg started them off. "We think each of the bridesmaids is responsible for killing her. Not individually but working in cahoots. Each one played their part."

Sitting down as he spoke, Grissom looked at the three of them. "Did you know that the original role of the bridesmaid was to act as a human shield against the bride's enemies?"

Sara ran off of Grissom's statement like she often did. "Women would dress similar to the bride in an effort to confuse and outsmart evil spirits that might try to overtake her on her wedding day."

"Wow, for somebody who's anti-wedding, you certainly know a lot about it."

Sara looked to Nick, "I'm not anti-wedding. I'm just anti-stupid – you know, people who do things for the sake of tradition with no clue as to why."

"Yet you said you two aren't going to get married."

Grissom interjected. "That's between us Nick."

"So, you aren't getting married?" Greg asked Grissom.

"No." The man told Greg, "and it was a decision left to Sara."

Sara looked at the boys. "We're getting off track."

"Let's start from the beginning, shall we?" Grissom suggested and let them walk him through what happened.

The talks with IAB exhausted them so they picked up food on the way home after picking Hank up from the sitter. Sara showered and changed into cotton shorts and tank top before sitting down to eat breakfast. Grissom had waited for her in the office but hearing the shower turn off, he'd went to the kitchen to heat up their breakfast.

"God that felt amazing." Sara stated as she sat down at the kitchen table. "Two days since I'd had a shower." She looked up as Grissom put cups of orange juice in front of their food containers. "And after this, I think I'm going to sleep for a week."

Sitting down next to her, Grissom watched her pickup her fork. "I doubt you will but I understand the sentiment. However, you should count yourself lucky because you were the only one that got any sleep at all."

"I guess now that Catherine knows my hideaway spot, I'll be tracked down easier in the future." She told him while watching him butter his toast. "I don't understand why Greg and Nick thought it weird I don't want to get married."

"Simple tradition that has existed for centuries." Grissom stated after chewing, "all girls and women want to get married or so is the belief."

Stabbing her pancakes, Sara paused in thought. "What's the difference between a marriage and a partnership?"

"Besides legal constraints, I can't think of anything." He watched her eat and once she'd finished chewing, continued speaking. "Why?"

"I think I've been so concerned with us not turning into my parents, that I've failed to see the difference is behavior." She glanced up at him. "The same behavior happens in partnerships too."

Grissom put his fork down and picked up his juice. "Perhaps, but the difference is communication and trust. Everything your parents did, we're miles away from those actions."

"So, if I changed my mind about being married?" She tested the waters with the question.

"I'd say let me know when and we can go to the courthouse. No wedding needed."

Smiling, Sara reached out and took his hand. "How do you not get whiplash when I do these complete turn arounds on you?"

"You gave me a lifetime of whiplash for the first two years you lived in Vegas. I'm kind of used to it by now." He chuckled under his breath. "More so, I always let you come to your own conclusions instead of trying to convince you. Views are more likely to change if I do."

"Ah, so you bide your time."

"Exactly."