It was a reunion of sorts, when after almost two years of absence, Gil Grissom [William Petersen] appeared on the February 3 episode of CSI, titled “The Two Mrs. Grissoms.”

“We had the perfect story”, says ex. producer Carol Mendelsohn tells TV Guide Magazine about the timing of Petersen’s return, “The Two Mrs. Grissoms” in conflict, and the peacemaker was MIA. “In fact, it was Grissom’s on-screen wife, Jorja Fox, who reached out to Petersen and convinced him to do a cameo with her and guest star Phyllis Frelich, who played his mom. Although his on-screen interaction was limited to a Skype sesson, allowing a rare glimpse into the marriage of Grissom and Sara, Petersen himelf reunited with the cast and crew on the CSI set. “Everybody turned out to shake his hand and give him a hug”, says Mendelsohn. “It was a family reunion without the turkey.”

So should fans expect the three Grissoms to reunite for dinner in the future, as teased in this episode? “We haven’t written the dinner scene yet”, says Mendelsohn. But that doesn’t mean we won’t see Grissom again. She adds “As long as there is a CSI, there will be a Gil Grissom.”

• Fox was on the set while Petersen filmed his scene, reading him lines off camera.*