Greg glanced over at Clementine, feeling his breathing speed up a little at the sight of her in the passenger seat. The car was in the driveway; the porch light was still on, and snoozing away in the car seat in the back, Wyatt burbled softly, finally asleep.

Clementine undid her seat belt and glanced at Wyatt, grinning. Her look to Greg was both amused and wry.

“Yeah, finally out. He usually drops off if I drive him around a while. Thanks for letting me do that before I got you home.”

Her look was easy to read as she reached back and stroked the baby’s soft cheek with a finger. The boy smiled reflexively in his sleep, and Greg reached back to tuck the fuzzy flannel blanket a little more snugly around the child’s shoulders. Leaning back between then seats alongside Clem brought him close to her, and he turned his head just in time to nearly rub noses with her.

“Not every woman would agree to end a date by helping put a kid to bed you know,” he pointed out, oh-so-aware of that generous mouth so close to his. Clem smiled, tipping her head. She barely brushed her lips against his, the soft tickle enticingly sweet, a flirtatious tease that turned the moment into something with both arousal and affection in it. Greg quivered, holding back to enjoy the sensation that much more.

Clem’s mouth pressed a little more firmly on his, moving to shape a few words against his lips, and Greg felt an exhilaration running through his entire frame when he figured out what she was asking.

***   ***   ***

Sara smiled, kissing Grissom’s bare shoulder. She remembered biting it a long time ago and the temptation rose up in her again, but he was sleeping now, and she felt he wouldn’t appreciate the surprise. They lay entwined on the bed, the French doors open as a soft breeze blew into the room, cooling it down a bit.

She felt the languid content flow through her, the satisfaction of being in the right place at the right time. Grissom slept deeply, his heavy head on her collarbone, the tickle of his bearded cheek a comforting pressure. The room was quiet, the mood peaceful. She studied Grissom’s features, wondering not for the first time at how he seemed a marvelous blend of appealing charms.

This man. Her lover, her betrothed, her future husband.

Sara shivered, feeling the joy all the way down to her toes, amazed at the sentimentality of it all. She never thought of herself as the emotional type; sticking to business was more her style, gathering facts and organizing them into patterns of logic.

A pragmatic woman above all, she knew, and yet—Here in the face of it, from the deepest well within her, Sara felt that this moment was truly the beginning of Happily Ever After.

WHERE ARE THEY NOW?

FIGARO: went on to live to the ripe old age of sixteen. He terrorized the yard and gardens of the house on Casa Caliente with unrelenting focus, only turning his attention to tormenting DANTE once the puppy became part of the family. Figaro grudgingly accepted the arrivals of SARA-MARY (AKA Bingo) and JAMES THOMAS (AKA Squirt) growing to enjoy the children once he learned hanging around them was fun. He was the subject of the popular children’s book Grissom later wrote: Figaro the Fierce and the Luna Moth and had a beautiful photo of himself on the back cover. Figaro is buried in the back yard and has a marble statue of a cat over his grave.

AVRA and WILL SIDLE: continued running the Ocean Inn for seven years until Will succumbed to a fatal stroke one morning with his wife in his arms. Avra mourned him deeply. She invited TOM and the children to move to the Inn, which they did. Tom dated and eventually remarried, and when Avra died of leukemia nearly four years later she left the Inn to him with Sara’s blessings. Both Will and Avra were cremated and scattered into the Pacific they loved so dearly.

TRUMAN IBARRA and ‘VIVE: received the deed to the Valhalla Seton mine from Grissom. The mine was no longer viable, but the property it lay on was prime Real Estate adjacent to two highways; consequently through sales and contract deals Truman acquired a fortune. ‘Vive managed to talk him into seeing medical specialists who treated him for his seizures and nosebleeds. The resulting case study was the basis for a national investigation into CIA experimentation, and Truman, along with several other veterans were called to testify at the Senate hearings. The drugs used on Truman permanently damaged his body, but he refused to accept any settlement from the government, sending the money back to the VA hospitals instead.  He and ‘Vive finally married, and he took her to Mexico several times to meet his mother. Truman kept in touch with Grissom, and eventually met OLIVIA and ALEX, befriending them and making peace with his heritage.

JOE MORGAN and DAISY BRANDTSTEIN of Sheba Nevada married. Sara and Grissom attended their wedding, and ran into MOLLY again, who manage to goose Grissom not once, but twice during the reception. She offered to host a bachlorette party for Sara, which became the now legendary “Sara and Sorcha go to jail with a bunch of hunky naked men” episode that to this day Grissom grumbles about. Joe and Daisy became foster parents to several children, adopting three.

CLEMENTINE ST. CROIX continued to date Greg Sanders for eight months after Grissom proposed to Sara, breaking up and making up with him twice during that time. Greg patiently assuaged her doubts and insisted she finish getting her degree. After her college graduation, he proposed.

In a happy coincidence of circumstance, Clem offered to buy Grissom’s old townhouse when he was putting it on the market; she, Wyatt and Greg moved in shortly afterwards. Clem worked for a private hotel security firm, eventually becoming manager and part owner of Fortress, Inc. She and Greg had two daughters, and raised all three of their children to appreciate cultural diversity and the Three Stooges. Wyatt went to Cal Tech, and his sisters to Pepperdine.

OLIVIA and ALEX De Montavallo lived well into their nineties, traveling and enjoying the freedom to be together. Alex published two books on art fraud and hosted a training video for Interpol on the subject. Olivia eventually did sell her gallery, and set part of the profit aside in a potential college fund for her son’s children. She and Alex welcomed the arrival of Sara Mary and later James Thomas with open arms, spoiling them heartily on every visit. As the years went on, both of them grew frailer, and eventually Olivia succumbed to respiratory failure, dying peacefully at home with Alex holding her hand. He lasted barely a year without her, passing away himself within a few days of the anniversary of her death. Both of them are buried at Garden of the Sea cemetery in Del Mar California.

SARA and GRISSOM finally married in a lovely small ceremony at the Ocean Inn after several more delays and misadventures including Sara’s bachlorette party, the parking lot car fire and the arrival of Dante. Grissom gave Sara the ruby heart pendant on their wedding night. He sold his townhouse to Clem and Greg, and put the majority of his household goods into storage, preferring the comforts of the bungalow on Casa Caliente. A few years and one rocking chair later, the eminent arrival of Sara-Mary put into action the need to remodel the house and add a second story. Grissom took semi-retirement at that time to supervise the reconstruction and begin to write his books Definitive Case Studies in Forensic Entomology, and the Handbook of Decay Timelines, both of which have become standards in their fields. He opted not to return to lab work, instead becoming a nationally renowned consultant and part-time manager of the body farm.

Sara was promoted to head of the night shift and rose to the position beautifully. She worked through both her pregnancies and held the job through terms of three more sheriffs, eventually earning Ecklie’s commendations. She and Grissom traveled and loved and argued and grew older together, reaffirming and strengthening the bond between them through the years of their lives. They live as close to happily ever after as is possible for two strong-willed passionate people in love with each other.

DANTE, the Golden Retriever mix arrived at Casa Caliente in Grissom’s jacket pocket and lived 17 years with the family, adoring all of them, especially Figaro. He provided Bingo and Squirt with companionship and comfort, and became excellent at retrieving tennis balls shagged by Grissom and later Squirt. He accompanied Grissom on daily/nightly rounds at the body farm, and made an excellent foot warmer under the desk as Grissom worked on his book. Dante died peacefully in his sleep and was buried next to Figaro in the garden, under his own slab of marble.

SARA-MARY GUNDERSON (nee Grissom) became a writer of intricate crime/mystery novels, twice winning Edgar awards. She bought property near Lake Mead and lives there with her husband, Hal, a renowned pediatrician. They have a son and daughter.

JAMES THOMAS GRISSOM graduated from Berkeley and specialized in microbiological research. He currently works for the CDC as a field agent, traveling to hot spots and assessing outbreaks and threats. He is currently engaged.