"No!" Gil Grissom shouted. "No Emily, get away from the wall!"

Without thinking he grabbed her small hand and pried the crayon from her fist. Emily's face turned red and tears welled up, she looked at her father in total shock. Quickly he snatched the little girl up and put her on the couch.

"Don't cry," Gil said, in more of an angry tone than fatherly. "You were the one that got caught."

Sara had heard the commotion from upstairs, where she was putting clothes away. She hurried down and saw Emily in tears on the sofa. She looked at Gil accusingly and put her hands on her hips.

"Gil," she said. "Why are you so short?"

"I'm not," Gil said defensively. "If I just let her color on the wall, then that would be bad parenting."

Sara slowly walked over to him and placed her hands lovingly on his shoulders. "Honey, it isn't just today. You've been angry for nearly a month," she said as she kissed him gently. "Tell me what's wrong."

Gil pulled away from her. "Nothing," he said.

Sara winced as he turned away from her. Though her pride was injured, she forged ahead. "You can't make us all miserable, Gil," she said. "Maybe we should take a vacation soon. I know class has been hard-"

"Sara," Gil said as he cut her off. "I don't want to talk about it. If I am making you so miserable, then I'll just go sleep somewhere else."

Sara was confused and her anger was overwhelming. "Look, don't be an asshole. You need to just calm down and take a step back," she said. "You're not the only one with a demanding job."

Gil laughed. "So what do you do all day," he asked.

Sara took offense. "Look," she said. "Teaching high school is almost MORE demanding than college. "

"Just shut... drop it," Gil said. "I have had a long day and I want some quiet."

Emily was clinging to Sara's leg, so she hoisted her up on her hip and glared at Gil. "I think you need to go, Gil," she said.

Gil didn't hesitate to grab his keys off the hook on the kitchen wall. "Maybe I will," he said.

Sara nodded. "Fine," she said. "Do you whatever you want."

O~O

Angrily Sara finished folding the laundry and shoved it forcefully into the drawers. She didn't know what had gotten into Gil, nor did she care at the moment. For nearly a month he had been coming home from work angry, going to bed angry, and leaving to work angry. The tension between them had been so bad that neither one of them attempted to be romantic with the other, she just had her hopes that he would straighten himself out.

"I don't care," Sara muttered to herself. "If he wants to act like a dick he can."

After Gil had stormed out, Sara had somehow gotten Emily to sleep. She was too upset to sleep, so she did laundry and kept the phone beside her with the hopes that Gil would call. Sara stayed awake until half-past midnight and gave it up; he was probably asleep in a hotel. She was just about to cradle the phone when it rang in her hand. Quickly she answered, expecting a slew of apologies and promises.

"Mrs. Grissom?" A man's voice asked.

O~O

"Gil, can you hear me?" a man's voice asked.

The voice sounded far away and distorted, but what it was asking was clear. Gil struggled to open his eyes, but they wouldn't budge. Everything around him was black. At the end of the long, dark tunnel was a light. It was always said that if you were having a near death experience, you should stay away from the light. In this case the light seemed to promise answers, so his mind went towards it. He felt two fingers pry one of his eyes open and the bright light caused his head to throb.

"Dr. Grissom," the voice said, clearer this time. "Can you hear me? Do you know your name?"

Gil licked his lips and found that his mouth was incredibly dry and the need for water was overpowering. Slowly he began to notice the things around him, though his vision was still foggy.

"What is your name?" the voice asked louder this time.

Gil swallowed. "Gil Grissom," he said his voice hoarse.

"Good," the man said.

Gil blinked the matter out of his eyes and saw that the man who talking to him was a doctor and that he was laying in a hospital bed. He struggled to remember why he would be in the hospital, but his mind came up blank.

"Why… why am I here?" he asked.

The doctor slid his pen light back into his breast pocket. "You had an accident, Gil. A pretty bad one," he said. "My name is Dr. Stogner."

"Accident? What kind of Accident?" Gil asked.

Dr. Stogner wrote something on his clipboard. "A car accident," he replied. "You were nearly killed."

He pulled back his blanket and Gil saw that one of his legs was badly broken. He was bruised all over, more so on the left side. His ribs, along the left side of his body, were broken and a white bandage was wrapped around his middle.

"You were hit by a Semi that ran a red light. You were wearing your seat-belt, but you were hit on the driver's side, so it didn't do much for you. You have a double compound fracture of the tibia and fibula. All your ribs are broken and there is a pin in you hip. Your left arm isn't broken, but may be quite sore because it had to be relocated," Dr. Stogner paused and pulled the blanket back up. "You also have a concussion and a skull fracture. We won't know how badly until we get a CT scan done."

Gil let all this sink in. "What… day is it?" he asked.

"Today is December fifth," Dr. Stogner answered. "Year two-thousand nine."

Gil was surprised. "Two thousand and nine?" he said.

"What is the last thing you remember?" Dr. Stogner asked.

Gil rested his pounding head back against the pillow and closed his eyes. Everything he was being told didn't sound real to him, but the proof was all over him that something had happened.

"I remember getting into my car and leaving the lab," he said.

Dr. Stogner flipped through a manila envelope. "Where do you work?" he asked.

"I just told you," Gil said, a little annoyed. "I work at the lab. "

"Gil, what is the last date that comes to mind?" Dr. Stogner asked.

Gil raised an eyebrow the best he could. "The last day I remember was September twenty-third, two thousand and two."

"Well, I'll have some nurses bring you something to eat and make you a little more comfortable," Dr. Stogner said. "I'll be right back."

0~0

Every day for the last three weeks, Sara had sat in the same waiting room, in the same seat, having the same thoughts she did every time. The last words she shared with Gil had been hostile and mean. In her heart she regretted ever word and wished she had just kept her mouth shut. When Dr. Stogner appeared, she stood quickly and hurried over.

"He's awake," he said. "I don't want you to be surprised. There is a little damage."

Sara's hand flew to her mouth. "Damage?" she said.

Dr. Stogner put his hand on her shoulder. "We are very lucky he is alive and there isn't any serious brain damage or spinal injuries. He seems to think its two thousand and two," he said.

Sara sank down into a chair. "Does he know that we're married? What about our daughter?" she asked.

Dr. Stogner shook his head. "You can go see him in a moment," he said.

He gave instructions to a nurse to escort Sara to see Gil after his bed clothes had been changed. Sara thought that she should be the one changing his sheets and making sure he ate, but all she could do was hope that the doctors were trying their best.

O~O

After what seemed like hours, a nurse took Sara back to see Gil. She had sat with him many times, hoping he would wake up. Luckily she wasn't given the option to have to put him on life support. Gil always told her that if something happened, he didn't want to be put on life support. The thought of being a vegetable and raising hopes, never sat right with him, and Sara had it in her mind to respect his wishes no matter how hard it would be. When she peeped her head into the room she saw Gil sitting up, flipping through the channels on the television.

"Gil?" she said cautiously.

He turned his head to look at her. "Sara?" he said. "What are you doing here? How did you know I was here?"

Sara came in and shut the door. "The hospital called me," she said.

"They called you?" he asked surprisingly. "Why would they call you?"

Sara chewed her lip nervously. If she was honest with him, it could go one of two ways. He would either be in denial and the nurses would drag her out, or he would understand.

"Gil," Sara said. "The doctors said that you have forgotten quite a lot."

Gil nodded. "I feel like I just woke up and it's all of a sudden two-thousand nine," he said. "I don't know what else I have forgotten."

Sara walked to his bedside and sat down. "Do you… want me to tell you?" she asked.

Gil was hesitant, but he nodded. "I'm a little nervous," he said. "Tell me that I'm not married with a dozen children."

Sara tried to smile at the old 'Grissom humor', but it was difficult. "You are married, but without a dozen children."

Sara waited on a response, but none came. She took this moment to take in his appearance. From head to toe, he looked battered and bruised. His neck was in a foam cushion because of his serious case of whip-lash. Just then, she wondered what she was going to do. Was he going to let her take care of him? Were things ever going to be the same?

"So, do you know her?" Gil asked.

Sara nodded. "Me, Gil," she said. "You married me."

Gil quickly looked at her, his blue eyes large with surprise. "How… when…how long?" he stuttered.

"We've been married for four years," she said. "We don't live in Las Vegas anymore. We live in L.A. You are the Dean of Biology at UCLA and I teach high school physics."

Gil was quiet as he thought about what she had told him "Are you joking?" he asked.

Sara blinked. "No. No I'm not joking," she said.

Gil laid his head back against the pillow. "I don't understand why I would marry you," he said. "We weren't even dating."

Sara fought to keep her tears back. She wanted to be angry and ask him how he could forget about her. For four years they slept in the same bed and lived under the same roof. They knew each others bodies better than they knew their own and they had made a child.

"I'll just go," she said as she stood quickly and left.

Once she was outside his room the dam broke. At that moment life didn't seem fair. Sara sobbed uncontrollably and hurried to the bathroom. Gil had spoken to her like she was 'Sara Sidle' and not 'Sara Grissom'. Slowly she regained her composure and straightened her hair in the mirror. There was a chance that this was temporary. Perhaps tomorrow he would remember everything.

O~O

After Sara left, Gil turned the television off. The news she had told him was unbelievable; that they were man and wife. The last memory of Sara, that he could recall, was of her storming out of his office. She was upset about something and for the life of him, he couldn't remember what it was. It was difficult to believe that they started a love affair and eventually got married. Of course, he had been fond of her romantically before, but that time had passed for them. He was content to admire from a distance, with the understanding that they would never be together.