"What was it like? Sailing by yourself for those two years?" Aurora asked without taking her eyes off the expansive ocean scene before them. Grissom and his daughter had taken the boat out for one last trip together before she left for Harvard. Yesterday, the pair had finished collecting the water and fish samples they set out for and now they were half a day away from reaching the shoreline.

"Lonely." He stayed silent for a while as Aurora waited for him to continue. She knew she could always get more out of her father if she gave him the time and space. "Before I met your mother, a two year stint out to sea all by myself would have fit perfectly well within my personality. Within my tolerance for socializing. But being out there on my boat without her, knowing full well what it was like to have had her… it was lonely."

Aurora nodded.

"I'm glad you guys figured it out in the end." She spoke with a small smile, "Not just for my existence."

He smiled as well and stayed silent.

"I wonder what it was like for mom during those two years."

"You've never asked her?"

She shook her head.

"Why not?"

She shrugged a little, "I guess I've only really ever asked you about this stuff."

Grissom became very amused at this. For as far as he had come to be emotionally available, he was still who he was. And for the life of him he couldn't understand why Aurora would be more comfortable asking him about this history over Sara.

"Unpack it for me." Grissom coaxed.

Aurora stayed silent for a long while, working it out in her mind before eventually responding, "Maybe I'm afraid it will upset her to think back. So much of the decisions she made around that time seem tied to her kidnapping."

Grissom nodded, "That's understandable."

"Did you blame her kidnapper for your split?"

"Natalie? No." He shook his head, "I guess if you boil it down, the decisions made were set into motion by her, absolutely. But I think sometimes life just plays out a certain way. And pulling at a string to find a throughline can drive a person mad."

"In one of your journal entires… you wrote that losing her would be like losing a part of yourself." His brows flickered up at the words, not having read or been reminded of that sentiment he'd so deeply felt in ages, "Is that what it was like? When mom left Vegas? And then much later on after you got divorced?"

He nodded. "Yeah." He nearly whispered, "More so when she left Vegas. I didn't know where she'd gone, if she was safe. After we found her out in the desert, I was so relieved that she was alive… I chose not to notice that she wasn't really okay. And that nothing was going to bring things back to they way they had been." He stole a small glance at his daughter before he continued, "My heart had never been so broken before. But… uh… when we divorced, it was difficult, sure, but it wasn't as sudden. It wasn't as shocking. And maybe that dulled me a little bit."

"It's hard for me to imagine you back then. How you always describe yourself as a loner, socially inept… I've only ever known you post-mom… I guess."

"Your mother did change me." He nodded, "She brought life back into my days. Joy into my hobbies. I learned how to be emotionally available for her and then in turn, for others I care about." He motioned to his daughter.

"Sometimes I think I'm more like you… but how you used to be."

"I don't think that's a bad thing." He winked her way, "Does that worry you?"

She shrugged, "I guess a little, with going off to school. It feels like you're supposed to be social and make friends and go to parties… but I'm much more comfortable in my books."

He leaned over and wrapped his arm around her shoulders, pulling her in close to him and placing a kiss atop her head. "Don't over think it." He smiled, knowing that he of all people has no place to give such advice, "You'll find your people."

October 2035

Aurora stood at a bulletin board outside her ethics lecture hall. Scanning the papers and flyers that littered the wall. Missing cat; Democratic Socialists club; Crew try-outs; Guest lecturer— Her heart leaped into her throat as she read the name of the guest lecturer from the flyer. She looked down at her watch and quickly realized that this particular lecture was taking place in the building next door in just five minutes.

She didn't think twice as she bolted out the door and over to the lecture hall next door, effectively blowing off her ethics class.

She snuck into the back of the room and listened as the man behind the podium spoke enthusiastically about the holy trinity of evidence. Something she'd heard from her parents countless times before.

He looked different from the last time she'd seen him. His hair was shorter and more tamed with salt and peppered streaks. Soft wrinkles populated near the corners of his eyes. She bit back a smile as she thought of ways to make her presence known to him.

Finally, the lecture ended and most of the students began to file out of the hall. But not all. Several female students flocked to the stage, charmed by his kind face and easy intellect.

Aurora slowly made her way to the front.

"Forgive me for interrupting—" She began, talking over a girl who was going on about her own studies and career path in criminalistics for some time now. "But I feel like you glossed over a crucial part of your lecture."

"And what would that be?" The man's eyes lifted to meet hers for the first time.

"The impact of the first blush. And how crucial it is to evolve that first blush as the evidence evolves. At least that's what Dr. Grissom would have lead with."

"Dr. Grissom?" The man smiled at the name and squinted his eyes at Aurora, "You're far too young to know of his lectures… He hasn't been a CSI in, god, upwards of 25 years."

"I know him very well." She pursed back a smile and seeing her do so lit the bulb in the man's head.

"Aurora?"

She pursed back another smile, "It's me." She laughed a little, "I know, I don't think we've seen each other since Eli's high school graduation. And I was like 11."

"I can't believe it's you." He beamed and swept her into a hug. The sight of which caused the other students to pack up and leave, realizing this was a reunion that ended any further questions.

"Hey Greggo." She smiled back at him.

"What are you doing here?"

"I just started at Harvard this semester. What are you doing here?"

"I run the Boston Crime Lab now… for the last three years. I can't believe this, I spoke to your mom last week. She didn't mention a thing."

"Sounds like my parents." She smiled easily, unable to wipe it off her features.

"What are you doing now? Come, let me take you out to lunch."

Aurora and Greg spent the afternoon together. Catching up on each others lives, discussing crime rates and areas of mutual interest. He took her to the crime lab and showed her around, introduced her to the team proudly as "My mentors daughter." She wasn't sure if it was her father or mother that he referred to.

Aurora spun around in Greg's chair behind his desk. He'd disappeared a few moments earlier to handle a problem in DNA.

She looked over his desk, noting trinkets and photos that lined it. She picked up a framed photo when she recognized some familiar face. There was Nick, Warrick Brown, Greg, her mother and father and Catherine, in that order. They all looked so young. She observed how everyone's arms were draped around each other, except for her mom and dad. His hand rested more intimately around her waist.

Aurora looked up to see Greg reentering his office.

"When was this taken?" She asked holding up the photo.

He thought a moment, "2005? Maybe 2006."

"And your team had no idea my parents were dating?" She pointed to the pair and their intimate body language.

Greg smiled. The cat's been out of the bag for so long that he almost forgot there was ever a time when he didn't know about them. When it was such a secret and so covert. "Your parents were very different people back then. But I knew earlier than everyone else. I got it out of your mom maybe a year into them dating. A year before everyone else found out. But I should have caught on earlier."

"Why do you say that?"

"Your mom and I were very close during those years. She was my best friend in Vegas. We would spend our mornings after shift grabbing breakfast together, watching movings, getting a drink on days off. And sometime around when that photo was taken, all of our post-work time together seemed to vanish. I should have realized someone else was taking up that time."

Aurora smiled, "What were they like then? Not some fairytale version."

Greg laughed, "Oh boy. Well… your dad was… recluse. Tirelessly dedicated to his job, the lab, the evidence, the victims with no personal life to speak of. He was brilliant… but incredibly stupid when it came to your mom. She'd been chasing him for six years by the time he realized what to do about it."

"Do you think he just didn't catch on?"

"No. He knew. He may have been in denial, but I'm certain he knew. It was very obvious what her intentions were. I think he was so deeply in love with her from the moment they met that it terrified him. But your mom… was also brilliant, tirelessly dedicated to her job, the lab, the evidence and above all the victims. She as also incredibly stubborn. But both your parents had a reputation for being uncommunicative and often emotionless… well—" Greg quickly amended, "Your mom lived on two extreme sides of that spectrum. Most of the time she was easily emotionally divested from the work—which is very necessary in this business. But other times, she was far too emotionally invested. Beyond passionate. She'd blow up at any one of us if we didn't go the full distance for a victim. I swear, the only time I've seen your dad shaken is when he was on the bad end of an argument with your mom. But that was really only on special cases."

"What qualified as a special case?"

"We all have our ticks. You know, the crimes that really get under our skin and hit too close to home."

"Domestic violence?"

Greg's brows raised, "You know?"

"About mom's childhood? Yeah."

"Wow. I'm actually surprised that she shared that. Maybe she's more communicative than she used to be."

"Only a year or two ago."

"Ah." He smiled, "Now that's more like the Sidle I know."

"Should we surprise them?" Aurora asked holding up her phone, "Then I'll get going. I'm sure you've got a lot to tend to here." She motioned to the stacks of paperwork.

"Hey bug." Grissom answered the incoming FaceTime.

"Hey dad, hey mom." She began as Sara came into view.

"Where are you? That doesn't look like your dorm." Grissom observed.

"It's not." She moved a little to the side to allow Greg to pop into view.

"Hey boss, Sar."

"Greggo!" Sara beamed, "What in the world…"

"I guess when we spoke last week you forgot to mention Aurora was starting at Harvard. And I forgot to mention who runs the Boston Crime Lab these days." He smiled widely, "We bumped into each other on campus."

"So what did you two even talk about?" Aurora asked through a small laugh, confused as to how they could keep in touch without so much as a passing comment on what was going on in each others lives.

"Subjectivity in Analysis and the Statistical Viability in Forensic Toxicology." Sara spoke.

"It's the latest article in Science." Greg added.

"So you're at the lab now?" Grissom asked, moving the conversation along.

"We are. Greg showed me around and introduced me to the team. The facility is amazing."

The four spent the next ten minutes or so catching up until Greg was called away to deal with another personnel issue.

"Miss you guys." Aurora smiled softly as she waved goodbye to her parents.

Grissom and Sara looked at each other knowingly. "You think...?" Sara started.

"She said she didn't want to but… if Greg has anything to do with it…"

"She's going to become a CSI." Sara finished his thought.