Disclaimer: The characters aren't mine. I just wish they were.

Spoilers: Contains spoilers for 8x08

Special thanks to Paradox for the beta work and for listening to me ramble for hours on end

It had been a long day.

Everyone had been trying to help, Grissom knew that, but he really just wanted to be alone. Since Sara had left, he was just going through the motions. Work was just something he had to get through each day. It didn’t hold the same feeling as it did before. As he looked around his office, he was overcome with this feeling of “Is this all there is for me now?” Having been with Sara had been one of the best experiences of his life, and he didn’t want to go back to the way that things were before. She made him feel, and he liked it. He just wanted to turn back time and help her.

Maybe then she would have been able to stay and work through everything in Vegas. But that’s not what happened. He had to get through this until she came back. He knew in his heart she would, he just had to keep himself busy so he didn’t keep watching the door to see if she would appear standing in it. He didn’t want anyone bothering him, so he got up closed the door and blinds and dedicated himself to doing the paperwork mounting on his desk that he had been avoiding. After a busy day, it was nice to have some peace and quiet. His silence, however, was interrupted abruptly by an unwelcome presence.

“Hey, Gil, I’m just wanted to say thank you for participating in my CSI mystery game. I think everyone liked having a little fun around here. You seemed to enjoy it as well,” Hodges said, sitting down in one of the office chairs.

“Yes, David, it was very clever of you to set something like that up,” Grissom said, hoping that a compliment would be the fastest way to get Hodges out of his office, but he didn’t seem to pick up on the hint.

“Hodges, I’d really like to be alone right now, I have a lot of work to do.” He sighed, hoping this would be more obvious.

“Well, ok, boss, I just wanted to give you something. I’ve had this idea for the game in my head for a while, but I wasn’t sure when exactly we could play it. With morale being down right now, I thought it could help,” Hodges said, shifting nervously in his seat. “Anyhow, I had made something extra that I thought we would need for the game, but since we didn’t, I thought you would like it.” Hodges handed him a small box and quietly left the room.

As Grissom looked at the little box, he had a moment of panic remembering the last time he had opened a box in his office, the box with Sara’s miniature. “Calm down, Gil” he thought, “This is a small box. Natalie is gone, and Sara is ok.” As he opened the box, he was surprised at what he saw. As he moved the tissue paper aside, inside the box contained a small figurine game piece. One that looked exactly like Sara.

He took the figurine gently out of the box and held it in his hand. He didn’t know why, but for some reason, this little game piece made him full of emotion. Not something anyone said or anything anyone did, just a little two-inch piece of plastic that made all his emotions come full force.

As part of playing the game, Hodges had let everyone keep their own game pieces as souvenirs. Looking back, he had thought it was silly at the time, but now he wondered if Hodges had done it for a reason. He took the Sara piece and placed it next to his own on his desk. “Right where they belong,” he said aloud and smiled to himself. Even if they couldn’t be together right now, Sara was always with him.

Sitting back in his chair, looking at the figurines side by side, he knew that there was still one thing he hadn’t been able to do yet. He hadn’t been able to talk to anyone about Sara leaving, at least nothing more than an “I’m fine” to the team. He knew if he didn’t express what he was feeling soon, he might head down the same path Sara was on. He felt so alone and so unhappy, but he knew this is what she needed to do.

Taking out a piece of stationary he kept in his desk, he took a deep breath and did the one thing he thought would make him feel better. As he put pen to paper, the words just seemed to flow from him.

Dear Sara,

Know that I love you, too. This I can tell you for certain. When you walked up to me in the hall, I saw the look in your eyes. I didn’t know what it meant at the time, but I can see it now. I can see how hard it was for you to leave me. Honestly, sitting here writing this letter, I realized that I have no idea where to send it. I guess I’m writing it more as a way to help myself deal with you leaving. Please believe me when I say that I don’t blame you for leaving. I never could. I just wish I could have gone with you. Please know that I would have if you had asked me to. Last time I wrote a letter to you, I quoted another man’s words. This time, I can’t do that. I have to let you know what I’m feeling in my own words. You are…the one thing in my life that I don’t doubt. No matter what happens in the world around us, I know that you are a part of me. Our relationship is something I never thought I would experience. It’s something I had always felt was out of my reach. Something for “other people” to have. This unattainable thing that I could just look at through a window but couldn’t get to. You proved me wrong. You stuck by me even when there were times you could have walked away. I won’t walk away Sara. This is it for me. You are it for me. No matter what else happens, trust in that. We are forever, and no amount of distance or time will change that. I long for the day when I will see your face again and am able to take you into my arms. Until that day, I will go on for the both of us. I will fight for the voices that go unheard, just like you would. I will make sure they have a voice. I love you.

Waiting everyday until you come back to me,

Gil

Taking a deep breath, he folded the letter and placed it into an envelope and put it into his briefcase. He collected his files and made his way to the door to go home. The paperwork could wait.

As he passed by the tech lab, he glanced up to see Hodges looking at him as he walked by. He gave him a smile and a nod, and Hodges nodded back, seeming to know what he was thinking.

Who knew a little game piece could mean so much.