He had a dream once. It was after he fell asleep next to the woman he loved, the woman he craved, the woman he couldn't imagine being without. He dreamed about her, about how once upon a time, he had settled for the fact that he'd never again know what it was like to kiss her. When he woke up, he was relieved to find it was just a dream. In fact, he kissed her, morning breath and all, and she moaned and rolled over, taking all the covers with her.

Before Sara Sidle came back into his life, he'd been ready to give up his career. He was ready to give up the bugs, the bodies, and the boobs. There was a nice, secluded farm out in Wyoming that was calling to him, and he'd been ready to answer. But once she made herself at home in his life, he realized the farm could wait. He'd eventually make it to Wyoming, not soon, and she'd be coming with him. But he realized working with her revitalized him. They had a routine, a vision, that came together perfectly, and he wasn't ready to give that up. Actually, he was just getting started.

They told Ecklie about their relationship a few weeks after it was consummated for the first time. Ecklie was so surprised they came clean about it; he arranged it so Catherine would be Sara's direct supervisor and would do her evaluations. Everyone, including Catherine, was happy with how it worked out.

Soon after that, he and the love of his life had dinner with Charlotte, who grinned through the whole evening.

"You found someone," she said when Sara excused herself to go to the bathroom. "I'm not worried about you anymore."

Avery also gave her congratulations. She was happy that one of them was doing well; the man she was dating proved not to be relationship material after all. She took Sara to lunch and told her a few things about Grissom she thought Sara should know. Sara already knew these things, but she smiled and nodded and even took notes on a napkin to humor Avery.

As soon as Sara's divorce was final, Grissom took her to the Stratosphere to ride the roller coasters. When they were suspended in mid-air, he took her hand and put a ring on her finger. The screaming that followed was not just because the rollercoaster was hurtling down the tracks and Sara was scared for her life. She was happy for her life, and she gave her new fiancée a big kiss to prove it.

Not that everything was perfect, but no life ever is. Sara still had her ghosts to catch up with, and Grissom still had his work to obsess over. Sometimes they both just wanted to be alone. Grissom hated it when Sara went into the bedroom and closed the door for hours on end. He always wondered what she was doing in there and why he couldn't help her deal with it. And Sara hated when he went into his office and enveloped himself into yet another case that would take over his life for God knows how long. They had their ways of dealing with problems, even if it drove the other crazy.

But when the chips were down, they tried to be there for each other. When Sara finally retreated from the locked bedroom, he would hold her tightly while she told him what was bothering her. It usually had something to do with a case. He gently tried to persuade her to go to therapy for her demons, but she'd always smile and assure him that she was okay. He didn't believe her, but she was stubborn, and he admired that about her.

And when he was tired of running into yet another problem in the case he was obsessing over, Sara would go over it with him; listening to all the details and then offering her own input. And then he'd realize how wonderfully patient she was and the case would be set aside, at least for a little while.

They knew how the other ticked, and they also knew how to press each other's buttons. It was an interesting and sometimes dangerous game they played; a game of who knew the most about the other. Sometimes Grissom got nervous when he realized how well Sara knew him. Sometimes Sara wanted to run back home to California when she figured out there was someone in this world who probably knew her better than she knew herself. For 2 introverts, this was a scary proposition.

Things weren't perfect, but they were the way they should have been. Sara remembered waiting for Grissom to call her to Vegas. She remembered what it was like to be in Robert's arms and wish they were someone else's. She remembered hoping that going to Vegas would be her second chance, and when it turned out to be the case, she remembered what a relief it was to finally be right about something. She believed in fate, and in return, fate brought her back to where she belonged. Fate brought her back to Gil Grissom.