Chapter Text
MOMENTS IN TIME
Chapter 1 – Back to Vegas
Gil Grissom was resting his head against the headboard of the hotel bed he was currently sharing with his wife. His hair was wet from the shower he had just taken after finishing up a little experiment in his makeshift hotel room lab. He propped himself up on the hotel pillows and put on his reading glasses picking up the lasted issue of “Forensic” from his nightstand. What was supposed to be a couple of days back in Vegas to help out an old friend, had turned into weeks, and he was starting to think it might turn into years. This was not what he had in mind when he left their boat to join her here. But he had to admit that he was enjoying himself, guest starring in his old life. Being back at the lab, solving mysteries again, had brought out a lot of old memories. After all, this city had been where he had experienced some of the best and some of the worst moments of his life. Vegas had given him everything, but it had also almost taken everything away from him. As he started flipping through the pages, his mind started drifting. It had been a while since he had really thought about the past. Out at sea, they were good at living in the moment, cherishing every sunrise and every sunset, living every day to the fullest. It was a good life. He was happy. Truly happy. And that was not something he would ever take for granted again.
His thoughts travelled back in time. To San Francisco, many years ago. It seemed so far away, almost like a different life. He leaned back in their bed, and closed his eyes as he drew in a deep breath. The smell of Sara still very present in the air, even though she had gotten up and jumped in the shower for a second time tonight. Her white robe was laying in a bundle on the floor by the entrance to the bedroom. He couldn't help but smirk... As he closed his eyes, he could see the images of her the first time they met so vividly in his mind. He hadn’t know it then, but that was the moment when he found the most important thing in his life. The one thing that would change everything, forever. It came in the form of a young woman with a razor sharp mind, a radiant smile, a million questions and a ponytail.
She had come up to him after one of his lectures. He had noticed her a few days earlier. There was something different about her. She stood out in a way he didn’t really know how to describe, he just felt it in his gut every time she looked at him. And she did look at him. At first, he thought maybe he was just imagining it. There was no reason why someone like her would give someone like him a second glance. She had the most beautiful smile, he thought to himself. But even though her entire face lit up every time they talked, there was something in her eyes that told him there was probably more to her story than met the eye.
He couldn’t stop thinking about all the moments in time, from the first time they met, up until this day. Their story was long, and at times very complicated. But every twist and turn along the way had brought them to where they were today, so how could he regret anything… There was a time when he had spent a lot of time with his regrets. Even after they got back together again. But now, for the first time in a long time, it was possible for him to think back to all those moments that had brought them here, without any sorrow or self-criticism. He was at peace with it all now, knowing well that he had hurt her, more than once, but never with intention. He put the magazine that was resting on his bare chest back on the nightstand, and closed his eyes. He let his thoughts drift back to where it all began, allowing himself to take a mental walk down memory lane, as he smiled to himself…
TBC – Next up is Gil thinking back to when Sara first arrived in Vegas and the first years that followed.