Disclaimer: Don't own the main characters

Summary: After being gone for five years, Sara comes back to Vegas for a wedding, and while there, old feelings between her and Grissom are stirred back up, which leads her to making a decision by the end of the weekend that will change her life again. What is it and What happens after her decision is made? Please read and find out. Flashbacks are set in season 2.

AN: Pretend Sara had left after she turned in her resignation in Season 2.

Title: This Time Around
Genre: Romance, Drama, Friendships
Rating: T
Spoilers: A little in a Burden of Proof
Time-line: Five years after Burden of proof
Warnings: Implied/Suggestive adult behavior, A little Violence
Main Parings: GSR
Minor Parings: Nick/Catherine, OC/OC
Other Characters: A few OC's

This Time Around

Chapter 1: Time to move on?

Flashback

5 years ago

Grissom picked up the piece of paper that was laying on his desk, becoming very shocked at what he was reading, then he saw Sara walking to the doorway of his office, so he asked. "What is this?"

While Sara walked into his office with her jacket over her arms, she replied. "It's a...Just what it says, it's a leave of absents, six months...A Year, maybe."

Trying to calm his heart, which wasn't working very well, he asked. "Why?"

"I was thinking about checking out the federal government system, FBI."

Grissom looked down as he chuckles a little, then replies as he looked at her again. "We have the best lab in the country."

She looked away from his eyes for a second before looking at him again. "I need a different work environment."

He looks at her with confusion. "What does that mean?"

"One with uh communication...Respect."

"Everybody here respects you."

"You don't."

He paused for a second before asking. "Is this about the hamburger thing?"

She mentally sighed, then shook her head with a humorless laugh."No Grissom, this is not about the hamburger thing...I uh...I uh...I don't believe you. How can you reduce everything I've said to a single quirk, you think the problem here is just about me?" They looked at each other as she paused, then continued. "If you don't sign my leave, I'm going to have to quit."

After he remained silent for a few seconds, she started to walk away, and right as she got to the door, he speaks again. "Hey Sara?" She turned around as he sighed. "The lab needs you here."

Sara gives him a sad smile while thinking he still doesn't get it, then replied. "Great." Before walking out while he just watches her with a lot of different things going trough his mind.

End of Flashback

Sara's alarm clock wakes her up from the dream she just had, which was a memory from the past. She couldn't believe it's been a little over 5 years since that day and the day she said goodbye to the short stint she had in Vegas. She wished things would have been different and that she could have stayed longer, but she had to get out, even after...Sara mentally shook her head from continuing with the thoughts of the past as she got out of bed so she could start another day at work.

After she had left Vegas one thing led to another and she ended up working with the FBI in the missing person's department in Boston, which was a little similar to being a CSI, except that there were a few happier endings for the victim's families. She had really meant to be gone only a year, but then one year became 2, and before she knew it, 5 years had passed, which despite her personal life not being much better here, she was enjoying it and the people she worked with.

Once Sara got out of the shower and had changed her clothes, she walked back into her room as her phone vibrated on her nightstand, so she walked up to it and smiled at the text message one of her co-workers sent. 'Please bring coffee, I'll love you forever :)'

She texted back. 'You got it.'

After she hit send, she finished getting ready, then grabbed her purse, badge, gun, keys and phone before walking out of her apartment.

When she made it to the coffee shop that her and her co-workers frequently went to, she got out of her vehicle, walked in the small shop that only has a handful of tables inside, then she stood in line with the other customers.

Once it was her turn, she smiled at the 5'7, slim build, short blond-haired, hazel-eyed, glasses wearing, young man behind the counter, which he smiled back and asked. "The same as usual?"

Sara nodded, then knowing his name from his name tag, replied. "Yes Danny, please." Danny nodded before getting the order ready while she stood there waiting.

When he placed the take-out coffee tray on the counter with four drinks on it and a single cup next to it, Sara hands him the money, then after he grabbed the change from the register, he handed it to her.

"Thank you Danny, I have a feeling this won't be the last time you'll see me."

Danny chuckled and replied. "I believe you're right, enjoy your day."

"You too." He nodded as she picked up the tray and her drink, then she turned around and walked out of the coffee shop.

After she made it to and in the FBI building, and after going through the security check, she stepped into the elevator and took the fifth floor up to the missing person's department. When the elevator opened on her floor, she gets out, turns to the right and started walking down the hall, passing the glass windows to the other rooms, such as a more private conference room, a lounge for the families who come here, the computer lab and the offices the higher-ups use.

When she got to the opening of the big area where her team's desks were, she stopped and looked at her co-workers while thinking about how she felt working with them. When she had gotten a job here she didn't feel like an instant outsider like she did in Vegas, which was more to the circumstances that led her there to begin with. She will give the team in Vegas some credit though, they did warm up to her toward the end, she just wasn't there for years and years to allow that bond to become stronger.

Her thoughts get interrupted when Billy, her newest co-worker of two years, speaks with a smirk. "Hey guys, coffee's here."

Billy Coleman was 5'8 with short brown hair, brown eyes, a slim build and 28 years old.

The other three team members looked up, and as they all got out of their seats, Sara replies with a smile. "Yeah because the coffee just grew legs and walked up here all by itself."

Chelsea, her other newest co-worker of two years, speaks as she took the tray from her. "Thank you Sara, I told you I would love you forever."

Chelsea Lawson was 5'7, had shoulder length, brown hair, blue eyes, an average build and was 27 years old.

Sara smiled at the brunette before replying. "You're welcome Chels." Chelsea smiled as she grabbed her coffee, then handed the tray to the guys before walking back to her desk and sitting down again.

As Sara started walking to her desk, the three guys finally said their thanks before going back to their seats.

When she got to her desk, she removed her gun and placed it in the second drawer in her desk before starting up her computer and sitting down. After she placed her purse in the first drawer on the other side of her desk, she looked at some files on top of her desk to see how much paperwork she had to do from last night's case. She had been so tired that she couldn't remember, then she smiled, happy that she didn't have much. She then looked at her computer again when it was booted up.

After signing in, she thought she would check her email before finishing up her report. Then once she was in her account an email had caught her attention, so she deleted the junk mail first and opened the one that caught her attention, she then gasped a little upon reading it, which was loud enough to get the attention from her team.

Josh, the co-worker she's been the closest too since she's been here, looked up from his desk and asked. "Is everything ok, Sara?"

Josh Finnegan was 35 years old, 6'1, had brown eyes, short blond hair that he liked to spike a little, and an above average build.

Sara took a few seconds to re-read the email to make sure she did in fact read it right, then she looked at Josh and replied. "Yeah, I'm just a little shocked right now."

Chelsea gets into the conversation. "What happened?"

Sara turned her office chair around so she could see Chelsea. "Two of my ex co-workers from Vegas are getting married, which I had no idea that they even liked each other in that way. But then again I wasn't there that long to see it, plus I was dealing with my own issues."

Bill gets in the conversation now. "Well a lot can change in five years."

Sara nodded as she turned her chair back around and replied. "You got that right."

Josh gets up from his seat and walks over to her desk before sitting down on the edge of it. "So you going?"

She paused again before shaking her head. "I don't know, I mean yeah we started getting along better before I left, but I didn't really become close to them."

"Well obviously close enough to invite you to their wedding."

She smiled as she looked up into his brown eyes. "They weren't even the ones that invited me." He raised an eyebrow as she continued. "The lab's DNA specialist, turned CSI, Greg Sanders did."

When she left, Greg was really the only one that she kept in contact with, but it had been awhile since she's heard from him, which she understood because of the jobs that they have. Sometimes their cases took precedence over communicating with the people outside of the lab, so it was easy to miss an email here and there, and at times before they knew it months would have gone by without hearing from one another.

He nodded in understanding and replied. "Ahh, I see, the one that had a crush on you."

Sara smiled a little bigger and asked in a smirking/joking manner. "And can you really blame the guy?"

Josh looked into her eyes and said after a small shake of his head. "No, No I can't."

They looked into each other's eyes for an intense second, feeling something that's been between them since they met, but had never done anything about.
It wasn't for the lack of trying on his part though, but he had always felt that she was holding on to something from her past, he just never knew what it was.

She cleared her throat as she looked at her computer screen while he continued. "I think you should go."

She was still looking at her computer when she smirked again. "What? You want to get rid of me?"

Josh chuckled while shaking his head. "Hardly." He leans closer to her and whispered. "You're holding on to something from your past and I think it's time that you finally get closure from it, don't you think it's time to move on?"

She looked at him again and he was looking at her with a concerned look, then she nodded after a second. "Yeah, yeah, I do." Josh smiled with a small nod of his head, then as he got up from sitting on her desk, he walks to his desk again before sitting down.

Sara took a moment before typing her acceptance to Greg, then as she hit send, her heart skipped a few beats, and if she wasn't mistaken those butterflies that she got in her stomach when she thought of a certain someone came back at the prospect of seeing him again.

Unfortunately or fortunately, depending on who was asking, she couldn't drown herself in that feeling because her supervisor walked out of his office and told them that there was a new case, so her mind was focused on the job now.

But in the far back of her mind, she couldn't help but wonder what's in store for her when she got there and what her reception would be, which in two weeks she's about to find out.

AN: I Credit the episode: A Burden of Proof for the 'Resignation conversation.' Interested in finding out more? Please review.