A crowd of reporters had gathered outside, waiting for Sheriff Atwater to make his announcement. Catherine and Gil huddled in the shadows, just inside the door.

"It's the end of his career," Gil noted. He was still holding Catherine's hand.

She nodded.

He narrowed his eyes and gazed at her.

"This isn't over," he said.

"Yes, it is, Gil," she assured him. "It's over. Eckley is dead. You'll be in charge, now. Everything will be alright." She felt the panic creeping up on her, again.

He pulled her closer, soothing her.

"I'm sorry, Catherine," he said. "I wish it were that easy."

"Just this once, can't you accept what's happened and move on?" she asked, already knowing the answer.

She shivered in his arms.

"Are you cold?" he asked, reminding her how off track he could be, sometimes.

"No," she said. "I'm scared."

Jim Brass approached the couple, a concerned look on his face.

"They're ready for you," he said, indicating the crowd outside.

"I don't want to do this," Grissom said. He held onto Catherine as if she were lifeline.

"Look, like it or not, you're the new head of the Las Vegas Crime Lab," Jim lectured. "You're being exonerated here. And you're going to have to face them sooner or later."

"Vultures and gossip mongers," Grissom snapped.

"Oh, that will get you real far with the press," Brass shot back. His tone turned angrier. "My god, Gil, what the hell do you want? Blood? A pound of flesh? You got your life back. Now, go out there and play nice!"

Gil knew Brass was right, even if he resented him for it. He looked back at Catherine.

"You don't have to do this," he said.

She straightened her shoulders, as if preparing for battle.

"Do you want me with you, or not?" she asked, something of the old Catherine back in her voice.

"Yes, I want you," he said.

She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair.

"Then, let's do it," she said.

He gave her one last kiss before they went outside, hand in hand.

Atwater was brief and clearly struggling with what he had to say. He apologized to the City of Las Vegas for the actions of the obviously deranged former crime lab supervisor, Conrad Eckley. He personally apologized to Gil Grissom and the members of his team, for all they had been through. He then announced that the crime lab was being restructured, and Grissom had been appointed director. The press ate it up. Finally, he introduced Grissom, and stepped back to give Gil the mike.

When Gil approached, he brought Catherine with him, their arms around each others' waists, as the other members of his team lined up behind them. He looked across the crowd, unsure where to begin. He realized that, in the end, there was only one thing to say.

"We speak for those who can't speak for themselves," he said. "For the victims, dead or alive, young or old, rich or poor. We have one job, to find the truth." He glanced quickly at Catherine before continuing. "All we want is to get back to that job."

A reporter in the crowd shouted out one question.

"Mr. Grissom, now that you're free, what's the first thing you're going to do?"

Gil's face turned to stone.

"Find the man responsible for Conrad Eckley's murder," he said, looking directly into the camera. "I know you're watching this. I will put you behind bars."

He stepped away from the mike and guided Catherine back into the safety of the building, the others following. Jim was nodding when they came through the door.

"Short and to the point," Jim said. "Not bad, for your first time out. Now, we just have to do it."

Once back inside, Sara nervously brush a tear from her cheek.

"Are you alright?" Warrick asked, taking her hand.

Sara shrugged.

"I'm not sure whether I'm happy that he's back, or unhappy that I lost him," she said.

"You never really had him, Sara," Warrick reminded her.

"Your point?" she asked.

On the other side of town, Lady Heather was also watching. She raised a cup of tea to the screen.

"Go get 'em, Gil," she said, surprised when she, too, shed a tear of relief.

In a bar downtown, Captain Martinez raised his mug of beer in salute, as he watched the program.

And in his penthouse office, Sam Bruan replayed the video of the newscast over and over and over again, watching carefully as Catherine stared up at Gil with complete devotion in her eyes, watching how they never let go of each other, watching as Atwater made is final bow, watching how Gil Grissom dared to throw the gauntlet at Bruan's feet, watching as that same Gil Grissom lead Catherine away from the podium and back into the darkness of the crime lab.

"Bugman!" he growled, picking up a photo of Catherine from his desk and gently stroking her image with his thumb. "No one will ever love you like I do, pumpkin," he said. "I can give you the world. Everything. If only you knew...."

Later that day, Grissom gathered everyone from the crime lab together in the conference room. Every person, from every shift, from every job, waited to see what would happen next. No reporters allowed.

"He's always happiest when he can command his troops and solve a case," Catherine noted to Jim. Both were seated in the front row.

"I take it you guys had a long talk about this," Jim said.

She nodded.

"You'll see."

Grissom cleared his throat, pushed his glasses up his nose and waited for silence.

"This last week, the Las Vegas Crime Lab has been in crisis," he said. "We are seriously backlogged, and we've lost some key people. I will begin by making some new appointments. When this meeting is over, I expect the new shift supervisors to meet with their teams and triage the outstanding cases. I will meet with the supervisors and their lead CSIs tomorrow, in the conference room, at 5 p.m., for a full briefing on the caseload. We have crimes to solve, people. It's time to got back to work."

He took a deep breath, seeking out Catherine.

"So, for the first order of business, the following people are taking over as shift supervisors: Sara Sidle, nightshift; Warrick Brown, swing shift; and Nick Stokes, day shift. Each supervisor will choose his team from those who decide to stay with the crime lab. If you don't want to stay, I expect to see your letter of resignation on my desk by noon tomorrow."

He paused a second.

"I'm sure some of you are wondering why I haven't assigned a supervisor position to Catherine Willows. After long hours of arguing, begging, and pleading with her, even at the cost of being accused of playing favorites, Catherine has consented to be assistant director. She will be handling all press releases and will be our liaison to the press, the public and the politicians. Nothing leaves this lab except through her. I think everyone here agrees she is far more politically savvy than I am, certainly easier on the camera, and I trust she will never embarrass me or the department."

A wave of light laughter swept the room.

"Let's move, folks," he finished, gathering up his papers and joining Catherine.

"I won't let you down," she said.

"I have no doubt about that."

The rest of the original team, including the lab techs and pathologists, circled around Gil to congratulate him. He squirmed a little when Sara gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"I'm glad you're back," she said.

"We all are," Warrick added.

As the group broke up, Jim asked, "Now what?"

"Now," said Grissom, "we go after Bruan."

*******

Gil Grissom strolled down the corridors of the crime lab wearing his familiar lab coat, Catherine at his side. For the first time in a long time, he felt like he'd truly come home. But when he reached his office, he was surprised to find someone waiting for him.

"Dr. Grissom! Hi, I'm Perry Hauser, from buildings and grounds. Nice to meet you."

"What can I do for you, Mr. Hauser?" Grissom asked, curious.

"Please. Call me Perry. When do you want to switch offices? We still have some cleaning and painting to do, but we could have you moved in three or four days."

"Moved to where?" he asked.

"The director's office. Eckley's old office. I thought you knew."

Grissom looked around at the shelves of bugs, his pickled pig, his singing big mouth bass, his "ones that got away" fish board, and the piles of other paraphernalia he had collected over the years.

"Perry, I'm not moving," he said, shaking his head.

"But, Dr. Grissom...."

"Catherine, you have your first assignment," Gil told her. "See what we have for space and make sure everyone who needs one is assigned an office. I'm staying here."

She smiled.

"You got it, boss," she said, as she pulled Perry out of the office with her.

Gil relished the silence and security of his office. After the vandalism at his town house, he wasn't looking forward to going home. But here, he was home. He made his way carefully around the room, touching each item as if assuring himself that this moment was real. He noted that someone had been feeding his bugs. Probably Sara, he surmised. He was lost in thought we he heard a noise at the door.

Turning around, Gil came face to face with Sam Bruan.

"What do you want?" Grissom demanded to know. He didn't bother offering the man a chair.

"You surprised me, Grissom," Bruan said. "I didn't think you had it in you."

"Don't play games with me, Sam," Grissom snapped. "We're way beyond that."

"I own casinos, Mr. Director," Braun replied. "I make a living playing games."

"Did you come here to gloat or to confess?" Grissom asked.

He sat down behind his desk, trying to look far more confident than he felt.

Sam Bruan laughed.

"No," he said. "I came here for Catherine."

Grissom leaned forward and glared at Bruan.

"You had your chance with her, and you blew it," Grissom said. "You won't get a second one."

"She's my daughter," Braun said. "Someday, she'll inherit everything from me: my wealth, my casinos, my legacy, everything. You won't be able to hang onto her, then."

"Catherine is her own woman. She's not for sale," Grissom argued.

"Everyone has their price," said Bruan. "Just ask Catherine."

"He doesn't have to ask me," Catherine said, slipping in behind her father and taking her position at Gil's side. "It's true. I do have my price. But what I want, you can't offer me." She rested her hand on Gil's shoulder.

"Someday, you're going to realize how wrong you are, pumpkin," Bruan said. His eyes fell on Gil. "You will never be able to love her as much as I do, or give her as much as I can. She belongs to me, and sooner or later, you'll realize that."

Angry, Gil rose up and leaned across his desk.

"Is that what this was all about? Catherine?" he asked. "You tried to destroy me and this lab just so you could have Catherine?"

"Collateral damage," Bruan said. "The lab was a bonus." He turned on his heel and walked out the door.

Gil started to pursue him, but Catherine held him back.

"Gil! Stop! Please! Not like this!"

Grissom was so angry, he was shaking.

"I really hate that man," he said, turning to see fright in Catherine's eyes. "I'm sorry, Catherine, but I really do."

"I know," she said, soothing him. "I know."

-- TBC --