Title: Consequences

Author: ellethEsteri

Summary: An old case is being reopened, forcing Sara to come back to Las Vegas after seven years. This time she's not coming alone…

Disclaimer: I do not own them, unfortunately.

A/N: Big thanks to my Beta Reader, Anaknusan *hugs and kisses*

This is my first story, all the reviews appreciated, though be gentle *lol*

Chapter 1 – Coming back.

She couldn't believe she was actually doing it. Just one phone call and she was dropping everything, doing exactly the same thing, as she had done 14 years ago. Well, maybe not exactly the same… The situation had changed. Her life had changed. Making everything a little bit more complicated this time. Not that she minded the changes. She rather feared that the others might… she smiled weakly at her thoughts. Looking in the review mirror she caught a glimpse of a little girl, sleeping in the back seat of her car. Her long brown hair curling softly around her angelic face, a dreamy smile on her lips. No matter how different her life was now, she was heading to the place where it all started. Sara Sidle was coming back to Vegas.

~*~
"Sara!" She was greeted by a cheerful shriek from her younger colleague as she entered the break room. Before she even manages to answer, she found herself closed in a friendly hug. She laughed into man's ear. He had changed since she last saw him. He wasn't a teenage-looking guy anymore, but a grown up, handsome man. Yet still with spiky, yellow hair.

"I missed you too, Greggo."

"How long has it been?" Catherine was next one to welcome her. The older woman's hug was somehow colder but still pleasant. In the glimpse Sara noticed a few wrinkles around red haired woman's eyes.

"Long enough…" she answered quietly, glancing in the direction of her ex-supervisor. The older man was the only one still sitting at the table. He did not get up to greet her, like the others, he just eyed her with piercing, blue eyes.

~*~
Grissom couldn't stop staring at her. It seemed like time had no effect on her. She was still the same Sara that left Vegas, young and beautiful, with wisdom and joyful flickers in her brown eyes. He watched her laughing with Greg and talking with Catherine. And then her last words hit him, with full force and he realised… The way she said it… No, this wasn't the same Sara that left Vegas. He could feel something was different, he could read it in her eyes when she turned her head in his direction, probably hoping he won't notice such a short glance. It was not her appearance that had changed. It was something else. Something he wasn't able to name yet.

She must have finally noticed that he wasn't moving his eyes from her because she smiled. Weakly, yet still with the Sidle-smile he knew so well. And that was it. Just this one, small, tooth-gapped smile and his heart jumped. Pounding hard against his ribs, as if trying to break free from a cage. For a moment he forgot to breathe, taken by surprise from his own body. He wasn't supposed to feel this. He wasn't supposed to feel anything. After all, after Sara left, he did everything in his power to push every feeling and every emotion so deep inside his body, it could never be found again. And yet somehow this woman, …Sara…, has just awakened them, simply by smiling. Just like she did before, when she came to Vegas for the first time. At that time she encouraged him to take the risk and have a life with her. He did and in exchange she taught him how to love.

Grissom smiled back, not sure if he was smiling at Sara or at his own memories of the happy life they used to have. A happy life he gave up so easily in the end.

~*~
One glimpse was enough for Sara to notice that time wasn't so keen on Grissom. His whole body was showing it. His shoulders bent forward as if he was carrying a heavy burden. He had more wrinkles and grey hair, and his face showed that he was burdened by more worries and troubles. And this sadness in his eyes… even after 7 years spent without him it still made her heart ache. But it all vanished when he smiled. And again she was seeing the handsome, middle-aged man she thought she knew so well. She had to admit than even after all that time he was still hot. She had to turn around to hide her blushing cheeks. Thank God Nick and Warrick were waiting for their turn to hug, and she could hide in their arms for a while.

"Good to have you back, girl." Warrick hugged her tightly, making her literally breathless, accompanied almost instantly by an impatient Nick.

"It's still strange to work without you, you know."

Sara mumbled something into Warrick's shirt, which sounded like 'sweet' and some other words no-one understood or heard as Warrick's chest muffled them. "Actually I wasn't expecting such a warm welcome." she laughed, finally being released from this double hug. Oh, it felt so good to be with them again. Till this moment she didn't even realise she missed her friends so much.

"That's because we're just teasing you before returning to normal sarcasm." Greg grinned widely.

"Can't wait for that." she answered with a laugh. Grissom raised his eyebrow. "So what do you need me for?"

A/N: Let me know what you think. (Yeah, I know it's short :P)