AN: This is the third and final part of the series of oneshots titled Long Live Love, continued from Three Cheers for Irony and The Triumph of Living. Reading the first two is not not necessary to understanding this one.

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He only wanted what any other man would want, what most would never think to want, having never been denied it: to love her, to kiss her, to be with her, under the sun. To step out from behind the cover of dark nights, closed doors and their damned professionalism and say before the whole world "You are mine as I am yours."

What had been their reasoning behind keeping it a secret? Because it could mean their jobs if anyone found out. A supervisor and his subordinate. Their jobs hardly seemed to matter now. Because he had done his job, because he was good at it, it was slowly costing them her life. He could almost hate his job for what it had cost her. It had sparked her interest and dragged her into the world of death long before she had come to Vegas. It had cost her her home and then her happiness as he had left her to wait. Now it was taking her life. He had done his job and she had done hers and now she was dying for it and he was dying for her. He nearly hated it but found that he couldn't quite because when he looked into the profession that was his passion, he only saw himself.

It had been such a small brief touch, over almost before it began. He had barely thought about it at the time or after. And that was his mistake. He had acted without thinking, as he would have if they were home alone together and not at a crime scene in the middle of the bright day, completely exposed. They had told themselves that they were doing well. Sure, Greg had figured it out, but they believed that he was an exception. Greg paid attention to Sara as only Grissom surpassed, and they had just started to take the first steps toward togetherness during the time when Sara was training Greg.

He had touched every inch of her skin as she had touched every inch of his. It isn't what you do, he thought grimly, it's who sees you do it. They had had sex well over a hundred times, breaking the rules with every kiss. IT had been so innocent, nothing their coworkers would think to fault them for, nothing that most people would have even noticed. It had been meaningless to the crowd of onlookers, but not to him, or to her, or to Natalie, and that made all the difference. To think that they had believed that the worst they had to fear was Ecklie.

***

"Be careful what you wish for," she had once told him teasingly as she walked out the door. He had wished that it would stop raining. The rain had stopped and now the sun was up and blazing. Killing her. He tried not to think that. It was illuminating the desert, making her more visible so they could find her.

***

"Be careful what you wish for." A body, facedown in the mud. Not her. Not her, thank God. Another person was dead and he was glad. He wished that they could find her, but if she was already gone…no, no, they would find her. There was no other way.

***

Every inch of her exposed skin was sunburned. They were exposed and he didn't care. They no longer had to hide. It was meaningless now in so many ways. "Be careful what you wish for." With the light pressure of his hand he willed her to wake up. His wishes would be the death of them.

***

Somehow, they never got around to making his wish come true. Having their lives turned inside out and upside down took getting used to and then she was gone, back and gone again. And then she tried to erase herself for him, but somehow he was the one who started disappearing.

***

A far-away sky through a tunnel of green. An older star whose light filtered down. It was there that they loved, under the sun.