Disclaimer: I don't own the main characters.

Summary: An unexpected moment shakes up the Grissom solid foundation like never before, which causes a life changing direction between an unexpected couple. It's also a big year for William and Bella, find out what joys and sadness they'll be dealing with. And what about Katie, how will her life turn out? Find out how it all ends in the 10th and final story in the Starting Over Series.

Title: What a journey it's been
Genre: Romance, Hurt/comfort, Family, Drama, Friendship, Tragedy
Rating: T
Spoilers: None
Time-line: 5 years later
Warnings: Implied/Suggestive adult content, Mention of Minor Character(s) death, a possible triggering moment
Main Parings: GSR
Minor Parings: Multiple
Other Characters: Multiple
Series Order: Starting Over, Going to Miami, Where to go from here?, More than meets the eye, When you least expect it, An Enemy Within, Working out in the end?, Bella, Growing up & Letting Go

Chapter 1: Welcome Home

March 7, 2032

As Grissom pulled into the driveway to his childhood home, he took a deep breath. He didn't care how long it's been since he'd actually lived here, it still got to him when he saw it, all those memories, good and sad, just washed over him like a tidal wave.

Sara, who was sitting next to him in the passenger seat, placed her hand on his arm and asked softly. "You ok?"

Grissom nodded as he looked at her. "Yeah, just a lot of memories."

She nodded, then smiled. "And there will be a lot more, a new generation of them."

After eight years of Kelly and her family living here, they moved to a bigger, two story house, and outside of B.J. and Stephanie living here a few years ago when they first got married, no one has actually called this place home for awhile.
Not to say it was completely abandoned, it was still being used for when someone in the 'family' needed to get away, or if other members of the family who don't live here came and visit they had a place to stay.

But starting today that was about to change, this house was going to be a gift to a person he always hoped he could give it to one day.

As Grissom nodded with a smile, another vehicle stopped behind them, so they get out of theirs, and after closing the doors, they looked at the three people who got out of the other vehicle, and while they were coming closer to them, William, who is turning 23 today, smiled. "What brings us here?"

After Bella and William went on their trip, they were only gone for a year before they came home to see Elizabeth, who got valedictorian, and Rick, getting 3rd, graduate, then they left again for a few months with Elizabeth and Rick before all four of them came back home and started school at UCLA.

Now it's been four years since they been home, and Sara and Grissom couldn't be prouder of their children, their son is now engaged to the love of his life while both of them were juniors in college. Their daughters graduated from high school last year, and Isabella, now 17, is going to Berkeley like her mother did, and Katie, now 15, stayed at home to go to UCLA with her brother and the others, like their father before them.

Before Grissom could answer William's question, and while Katie, who was the third person that got out of William's vehicle since she was spending the morning with her brother and Bella, was hugging her mother, they all heard a motorcycle coming closer until it stopped behind William's vehicle, then when the person got off the bike and removed the helmet, William smiled with his blue eyes bright. "What are you doing here?"

Isabella, who was looking more like Sara than ever before, smiled as she walked up to her brother. "Like I would miss my brother's birthday."

After they shared a warm, sibling hug, they pulled back, and as they walked up to their parents, Isabella sighed, seeing their parents with a worried look. "Are you two always going to look at me like that?"

Sara nodded. "As long as you are driving that death trap, you bet."

When Isabella wanted her vehicle to be a motorcycle, she got heavy resistance from her parents, especially from Sara, and when you got those two on the opposite end of something, there was bound to be a few blowups, which of course there was, and it wasn't until Isabella was trained/taught by the best motorcyclist in the area that Sara would allow it.
Of course that didn't stop their parents from still being worried every time she got on her bike.

Isabella stopped in front of her father, and Grissom spoke softly. "We just want you to be safe."

She nodded with a smile. "And I promise I am."

After Grissom just nodded, he brings his oldest daughter in his arms to give her a hug. "Thank you for being here, butterfly."

"You're welcome, dad."

As they were pulling back, William, who was now holding hands with Bella, asked again. "So, what are we doing here?"

They all looked at Grissom before he cleared his throat while pulling keys out of his pocket. "While this gift is really for your wedding present, I wanted to give it to you on another special day." As William look at his father with confusion, Grissom handed him the house keys and said. "Welcome Home, son."

William gasped and shook his head. "No way."

Grissom nodded before continuing with emotion. "Yes, this house is now yours."

Still in shock, he looked between his siblings and said. "But what about..."

Isabella cuts him off, knowing what he was thinking. "Dad talked to us about it, and we want you to have it."

Katie then replied with a smile. "Yeah, grandma would want you to have it too."

Filling up with emotion he looks at his fiancée, and asked softly, knowing this will affect her too. "Bella?"

She nodded with a smile and tears in her eyes. "I couldn't agree with your family more, it's ok with me."

William slipped his hand out of Bella's before taking a step towards both of his parents, which Sara was now standing next to her husband and brings them both in a hug. "Thank you."

They each place a hand on his back as Grissom whispered. "You are very welcome, son."

After pulling back, William took the house keys from his father, then after slipping his hand back into his fiancée's, him, Bella, and the Grissom girls headed for the front door of the house.

Sara and Grissom looked at one another with smiles, before taking each other's hand and following their kids, happy everyone is together again.

(A few hours later)

After leaving Grissom's childhood home, turned William's and Bella's home, they headed back to the main house, where they'll have a party with the people they care the most about, except the Hughes/Bolden family wasn't there.

Sometime during the party, Isabella was in the kitchen getting something to drink when her phone starts ringing, so she pulled it out of her pocket to see who was calling, and instead of answering it, she pushed the ignore button with the shake of her head before putting it back into her pocket, and Jason, who had seen the action, smirked as he came further into the room. "Uh, oh, man troubles?"

She took a breath and shook her head. "Not anymore."

Knowing what that meant, he cringed, feeling a little more sad for her. "I'm sorry."

She shook her head again. "It's ok. It was, well, complicated."

He then smirked. "Aren't those the best kind?"

She chuckled before smirking back. "I guess it depends on how complicated it is."

He asked softly. "So, how complicated was it?" Then whispered. "Not the married man kind of complicated, right?"

She looked at him in shock before she shook her head. "No way, not that complicated. Besides, I could never do that."

He looking into her eyes, he spoke with determination. "Good, because you deserve better than that, you deserve a man who can give you all of himself and treats you right."

Isabella took a breath before softly speaking. "Thank you, Jason."

"No problem. You were there for me when I needed someone the most, so I am happy to repay the favor."

Five years ago, the second game of the season for the USC football program, Jason was making his first start, and on the first play of the game, he got tackled the wrong way and ruined his chances of ever playing a contact sport again, which he learned real quick after that day who his true friends were and who was only around him just because of his athletic ability that could have taken him to the big bucks, and the first people he saw while he was in the hospital, before even his own father, was the Grissom family. And from that day forward they had his back, even letting him stay with them until he figured out what to do next with his life.

Now he owns a mechanic shop, and has an artistic side that had always been hidden because of the demands from his father of being the 'jock' guy, so he doesn't show it off. In fact, Isabella is the only one who knew about that talent.

Isabella started to smile when William walked into the room. "Hey man."

Jason turned around and greeted his friend with a handshake. "Hey, happy birthday. Did I hear you got a house?"

William chuckled with a nod. "Yeah, I'll tell you about it later." As Jason nodded, William looked at his sister with a more serious tone. "Uh, Andrew's here, he's sitting on the stairs."

Isabella immediately nodded. "Thank you."

As William nodded in return, she looked at Jason with a smile. "It was nice seeing you again."

Jason nodded with a smile in return. "Yeah, it was nice seeing you again too."

After one more nod, Isabella left the kitchen and headed for the stairs, where she saw Andrew sitting there with his head down. "Hey, I could have came over."

Andrew sighed as he looked up at her, sadness behind his usual bright brown eyes. "Yeah, I know, but I had to get out of there for a bit. It hurts seeing my mom in so much pain, even though she tries to hide it from me the best she could."

The Hughes/Bolden family, particularly Carly and her siblings, are dealing with a tragedy, they lost both of their parents in just a short span of time between them, and Carly was taking the losses pretty hard, so hard it was taking everything in her not to pour herself a drink, something she hadn't done in 37 years.

Isabella nodded before sitting down next to him, and as she wrapped her arm around her best friend's shoulders, William and Jason walked out of the kitchen, which Jason saw the action before following his friend outside.

After a moment, Andrew took a breath and shook his head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to come over here and ruin..."

She cuts him off with a small smile. "You didn't ruin anything. We are best friends, you know you can come to me or contact me anytime, no matter what it is."

He cleared his throat with a nod. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. Do you want anything to drink?"

"Water, if you don't mind?"

She stood back up, shaking her head. "Not at all. I'll be right back."

As he nodded, she headed for the kitchen, but he wasn't alone for long before he heard Katie's voice, who had stepped inside the house from outside. "Andrew?"

Andrew stood up with a small smile. "Hi."

She rushed to him with sadness, giving him a comforting hug when she could. "I'm sorry."

He hugged her back and whispered. "It doesn't feel the greatest right now, but I'll be ok. I'm thankful for knowing my grandparents for as long as I did." He sighed as he continued. "I mean some grandkids don't even get to meet their grandparents." Realizing who he was talking to, he cringed as they pulled back from the hug. "I'm sorry."

But Katie just shook her head with a smile. "It's ok, I may have not had a chance to meet mine, but I do have pictures and my dad has plenty of stories."

While he nodded, Isabella had walked out of the kitchen and headed their way, handing Andrew his bottled water once she was close enough. "Thank you."

"You're welcome. You want to come up to my room?"

Knowing he probably didn't want to deal with the party-goers right now.

"Sure."

Katie then said. "I can come too, if you want?"

But Isabella shook her head. "No, it's ok, I got this."

Katie was going to open her mouth to say something else, but one hard look from her sister, she just nodded before looking at Andrew. "Call me if you need to talk."

Andrew nodded with a smile. "Thank you, I will."

After Katie nodded again, she turned around and walked towards the kitchen while Isabella and Andrew headed upstairs, and as they were halfway up, he looked over at her and smirked. "You are jealous of your little sister."

She chuckled and shook her head. "I am not." When they looked one another once they reached the second floor, she continued. "Per se." He chuckled while she finished after a sigh. "Only because she gets to spend more time with my best friend than I do."

He shook his head and pointed out while walking into her childhood room. "It didn't have to be that way, no one forced you to go to Berkeley."

"I know, but, as much as I love my family, I felt I needed a little space from them."

"I totally get it." Then he placed his hand on hers with a smile. "But know you will always be my best friend."

She lightly pushed his shoulder as she smirked. "Good, and it better stay that way."

He chuckled with a nod as he brings her in a hug.

She hugs him back with a sigh, and after a moment, they pull back and she sits on the bed while he took the beanbag chair, asking. "So, how is college life treating you?"

"Very good, even though at times I do admit to missing everybody here."

He nodded in understanding before asking with a smile. "And how is it with the man in your life?"

She raised an eyebrow as she asked. "How do you know there is a man in my life?"

He then smirked. "When is this there not a man in your life?"

Out of the Grissom kids, Isabella was a little more outgoing than her siblings ever were/are, so dating wasn't that hard for her, not that she went after every boy she met. But if there was a true interest there, she didn't exactly hold back on telling him she was interested.

She grabbed a small pillow and threw it at him, making him chuckle as he caught it while she spoke. "Hey now, don't say it like that, I haven't done anything." Then she sighed as she looked down and spoke softly. "I'm not ready yet."

Andrew read between the lines. "And he was?" When she didn't comment, he looked at her with sympathy. "I'm sorry Izzie, if you're not ready then you're not ready, no one has a right to force..." He stopped for a second before looking at her with shock. "He didn't, did he?"

She looked at him immediately. "No, it wasn't like that, and frankly I don't want to talk about it right now." After Andrew nodded, she smirked. "So, what about you? Any prospects, or are you waiting for the college crowd?"

He took a sip of his water before replied with a smile. "Maybe, we'll see."

Seeing the small happiness he had, she smiled for her best friend. "All I have to say about that is whoever she is, she better treat you right, or your best friend will call her out."

He smirked, knowing how protective she could with the people she cared about the most. "No doubts there."

After one more smile, there was a slight pause before they continued on with their small talk.

(Hours later)

Once the party was dying down, William and Bella headed to their apartment, and after they got there and had stepped inside, William smiled as he headed for the bedroom. "I'm going to start putting some boxes together."

Bella smirked. "You're sure not wasting any time."

He stopped and turned around to look at her with a smirk. "Why wait, the quicker we pack up, the faster we get to move into our house." He then chuckled and shook his head with a smile. "Can you believe it, 'our' house."

She walked up to her excited fiancé and cupped his cheek. "It does sound pretty amazing, doesn't it?"

He nodded as he placed his hand top of hers. "It does, and you're sure you're ok with it?"

Bella nodded with a smile. "I truly am. I know how much the house means to you guys, especially for your father, and the more times I see it, I can't imagine building a family with you anywhere else, so if you're happy with it, than I am too."

Seeing the truth, he nodded again as he brings her in his arms. "I am. Thank you."

"No need to thank me, but you're welcome."

They pull back a few moments later after a kiss on the lips before William headed for the bedroom again, this time making it. He wasn't in there very long before he heard a knock on the door then heard the voice of his 'Aunt' Amy, who was at the party earlier, then moments later, he hears a tiny bark, making him shake his head, thinking he was either hearing things, or that one of their neighbors had gotten a new puppy.

When he heard another small bark a moment later, he spoke as he walked back into the living room. "Am I hearing things, because it sounds like a..."

He stopped walking and talking when he saw that Bella was a holding golden retriever puppy in her arms, and she smiled with tears in her eyes as she said. "Happy Birthday, sweetie." He stood there in shock as she walked up to him, continuing softly. "I know how much you loved Max, and the thought of loving another pet like you did him, must be difficult, and believe me, I went back and forth on this decision, but when this type of special occurrence happened, I couldn't turn it down."

Still shocked, while looking at the puppy in her arms, he asked. "What do you mean?"

She stopped in front of him before continuing. "There is something really special about this puppy, he's a member of Max's family."

William looked at her wide-eyed as they filled up with tears. "Really?"

She nodded. "I guess a friend of a friend of Amy's, who had a dog with Max's bloodline, contacted her, asking if she could help with finding homes for the new puppies, and when Amy came to me, asking if I was interested in one of them for you, something told me I couldn't turn it down. I thought if there was one dog out there that you would love, it would be a blood relative to Max." When he hadn't made a move to hold him yet, she continued. "We don't have to keep him, if you don't want..."

He cuts her off while finally reaching for the puppy, his heart already filling up with love the moment he held him. "It's ok, I want him."

After losing Max, William really wasn't sure if he ever wanted to have another dog, but his fiancée was right, when this special opportunity came up, how can you turn something like that down.

"Yeah?"

He nodded with a smile. "Yeah, thank you."

Her tears were still in her eyes as she nodded. "You're welcome."

He took a breath as he turned his attention to the puppy in his arms before replying. "A house and a puppy on the same day, this has to be the best birthday ever."

She chuckled with a nod, she couldn't agree with him more.

Later that evening

While Grissom was getting ready for bed, Sara was finishing up her conversation with Brett, who had called moments earlier. "It's ok...we are happy to help...give her my love...yeah, bye Brett."

As she pulled the phone from her ear to end the call, Grissom came into the room. "Everything ok? I mean as ok as can be under the circumstances?"

Sara sighed while placing her phone on her nightstand. "Brett asked if Andrew could stay here until spring break while he takes Carly out of town for a couple of weeks."

Grissom frowned, knowing how it feels to lose parents he was close to. "That bad, huh?"

Sara nodded as she walked up to her husband. "I heard she almost took a drink, which shook her up even more than she already was."

Grissom wrapped his arms around her, both sighing for their friend, then he spoke as he ran a hand up and down her back. "She's a strong woman, and has the full support of her husband, if anybody can pull out of it, it's her. It's just going to take a little time."

And even then they both knew the pain wouldn't go away completely, it will just be a little more manageable as time goes by.

Sara nodded in agreement, but still wished there was something more she could do for her.

After a few moments, she pulls out of his arms so she could get ready for bed before meeting her husband in bed.

Once they were wrapped in each other's arms, and wanting to end the night on a more positive note, she spoke with a smile as she slipped her fingers through her husband's. "Can you tell me again how we have a 23 year old, who is about to become a married man?"

He chuckled, lightly squeezing her hand. "Pretty amazing, huh?"

She nodded with a smile. "Yeah it is."

He then smirked. "And you know what's coming next in the foreseeable future, right?"

She didn't even hesitate. "Grandchildren."

He kissed the top of her head and asked. "You ready for that?"

Sara took a moment before she started to have tears in her eyes. "Yeah, bring it on." He smiled while she asked. "What about you, bugman?"

With emotion, he didn't even hesitate. "I'm ready to hear kids in the house again, so yeah, I'm ready too."

She then smirked. "So, should we tell them we are ready?"

He chuckled for a moment before calming down. "I think we should let them go at their own pace."

They started to yawn before Sara nodded. "Yeah, you're probably right, I hate for them to get too overwhelmed."

He nodded as he closed his eyes. "I love you, 'grandma'."

She chuckled for a moment before asking. "Testing out the name?"

"Yeah, what do you think?"

"Mmm, not as bad as I thought, 'Grandpa'."

He just smiled with a little satisfied sigh while she closed her eyes and snuggled in his arms further, if that was even possible, and whispered. "I love you too."

After one more kiss on the head, they just laid there as slowly fell asleep, dreaming of their house filled with their kids and future grandkids, they couldn't wait.

AN: More to come. Thanks for reading, and please review.