"Alright. Catherine, Warrick… DB in Henderson. Nick, Sara…casino DB. Greg… there's a backlog of DNA samples, and I need you to stay here tonight." Grissom proceeded to handout the assignment folders to the CSI's.

"What about you Gris?"

Grissom turned to look at the young brunette. "I'm staying, here. I have a lot of paperwork to do."

A look of disappointment graced her beautiful features. "Oh….uh ok."

Nick turned towards Sara and gave her one of his charming smiles. "Alright Sar! Looks like another case together."

She placed a fake smile on her face. "Yeah….yeah. Hey I'll meet you at the Tahoe okay?"

"Yeah sure. See ya in a few!"

After Nick and the rest of the CSI's had left the break room, Sara headed towards Grissom's office.

knock knock

Grissom looked up to see a familiar face. One that he looked forward to see every day. "Hi."

"Umm can we talk?" Unlike most days when she stood in his office, today she wasn't smiling. She looked hurt and disappointed.

"Sure. What's the problem?"

"You."

"Excuse me?"

"Gris I feel like… like you don't respect me anymore. It's been weeks, hell months since we've worked together. Is it something I've done, something I didn't do?"

"Sara I… I don't know what to say. I've told you, I don't know what to do about … this, about ….us."

"There is no us Grissom."

"Sara –"

"If nothing more, I just want us to be friends again. Like it used to be."

He could see the hurt in her eyes, and he wanted nothing more to hold her. But he knew that stepping into those waters, could be dangerous for both of them career wise. That was the reason behind the rejection. He thought that if he didn't work with her, or talk to her, then he would be able to keep his emotions in check. But the truth was that he did love her, deeply.

Silence ensued for many minutes before Sara spoke up. Tears were in her eyes and were threatening to spill down her face. "Gris, is it possible that love can die? Or once you've found love, it stays with you forever?"

Her voice became choked with tears. She paused for a moment or two, trying to regain some sort of composure. She looked at him, almost as if he were her judge. He had allowed her to speak on, offering no comment, no word of sympathy: and now, while she paused, trying to swallow down the hot tears that gushed to her eyes, he waited, impassive and still.

As she tried to dry the tears she looked at him. A curious look of intense passion seemed to glow from beneath his eye lids, his mouth was tightly closed, lips compressed, as if his will alone held his surging passion in check.

She knew in a moment that for the past few months she had been mistaken: that this man who stood here before her, cold as a statue, when her musical voice struck upon his ear, loved her. His passion might have been dormant, but it was there, strong, and intense.

Grissom was just about to speak up, when his cell phone rang. "Grissom. Yes….yes I will. Wait, the reception in here isn't great." He motioned to Sara that he would be a moment, then left his office, still talking into his cell phone.

There is no way that he's getting off that easily. She got up and followed him down the hall. After many twists and turns, she found herself outside in the back of the lab. The sun was just starting to come up, and looking over she could make out Grissom's silhouette.

Waiting until he had hung up, she walked over to him. He turned around, not knowing that Sara was there and he suddenly found himself face to face with her. She was so close to him that her soft, loose hair was wafted against his cheek; her eyes, glowing with tears, maddened him, the music in her voice sent fire through his veins. But he could not yield to the magic charm of this woman whom he so deeply loved. He closed his eyes to shut out the vision of that sweet face, of that snow-white neck and graceful figure, around which the faint morning light was just beginning to highlight.

"Grissom I'm not happy here anymore. I'm always working with Nick or Warrick.

Her tears now refused to be held back. All her troubles, struggles, and heartache overwhelmed her. She tottered slightly, ready to fall, and leant against the stone wall. She quickly turned around and buried her face in her hands and sobbed bitterly. He could do nothing but watch her as her delicate frame was shaken with sobs, watched her until unconsciously his face softened.

In a single second he would have taken her into his arms, kissed away her tears. But he couldn't risk their jobs, and was too scared to act on these new emotions. As more hot tears sprung to her eyes, she did the only thing she could think of, and ran.

Grissom stood there staring after her. He cared for her. That he admitted, but he dared not act on it for fear of demotion and rejection. Part of him wanted to hold her and kiss her senseless, but another part of him cowered in fear. He had dated, and had flings with other women, but the emotions that he experienced when Sara Sidle walked into the room were completely new.

Had she but turned back then, and looked out once more she would have seen a strong man, overwhelmed with his own passion and his own despair. He was but a man madly, blindly, passionately in love, and as soon as her footsteps had died away within the lab, he brushed his fingers over the wall where she had leant.

After fixing her red eyes and blotchy cheeks in the washroom mirror, Sara headed back into the lab hallway. Her mind was overflowing in a turmoil of emotions. Part of her was relieved to know that he did have feelings for her, while yet another part of her was angry and hurt that he didn't act on them. How could he do this to me? Why couldn't he just tell me outright. 'Sorry Sara I love you, but can't do anything about it. Or at least something along those lines. Then maybe I could have moved on… or tried. I hate him. HATE him!

While her mind was reeling, she wasn't looking where she was going, and she bumped into a tall man. "Oh I'm sorry- "

"Do you work here?"

"Yes?"

"Good. I'm working for the Las Vegas Editor. Do you think you could tell me where Mr. Grissom is?"

Still angered at what had happened outside, Sara released his location. What the hell? He has caused me some serious damage, the least he can do his be bothered at his crime scene. Spurred on by anger and revenge, Sara turned to the man. "He's gone to a crime scene out in Henderson. I can give you the address if you like."

"Sure." That'll get him.

It was a couple hours later that Sara found she couldn't live with her conscious any more. All afternoon she had felt guilt about yelling at Grissom and about sending that guy out to him, when she knew how much he hated to be disturbed at a crime scene.

Sighing she shut down her computer, and walked out to her Tahoe, mind set on driving to Henderson and apologizing to Grissom.

Stepping out of her car she crossed the crime scene tape and scanned the scene for Grissom. What she saw, stopped her heart. The two cops that should have been on duty protecting the crime scene, were lying dead in pools of blood. Immediately she reached for her gun and crouched down behind the police cruiser.

Sara crept forward and whispered carefully. "Grissom? Grissom?"

When she poked her head around the corner she saw 6 large men. Four were standing keeping guard, while two were loading a limp Grissom onto a small cart. Sara recognized two of them immediately. One, John Fryson, she remembered from a case she, Nick and Grissom had worked a few years ago. The psycho had kidnapping four women, and was about to get away, when Grissom found the ground breaking evidence that put him behind bars. Was he back for revenge? And the other man she had seen only a little while earlier in the lab. She had been stupid and given that bastard Grissom's whereabouts.

The only thought that ran through her mind was one of guilt. I have to same him! Pulling out her cell phone she hit #2 on the speed dial.

"Willows."

"Catherine, it's Sara."

"Sara, hey I-"

"Catherine, Grissom's in trouble he – …" A wave of static suddenly interrupted the emergency conversation.

"Sara …I… c….. hear…..you."

"Grissom's hurt! He's being taken across the desert. Send back up! HURRY!-" Then the line went dead. Shit! Looking up again she saw the men slowly moving out into the desert, pulling Grissom along behind them in the cart.

Go after him! Wait for help! Her mind was telling her to be reasonable and wait, but her heart was telling her to save the man that she loved. Waiting for Catherine to send back up could take hours, and that was time that Grissom may not have.

Pocketing her cell phone she started to slowly follow behind, trying to keep cover behind desert bushes and cacti. But luck was on her side and the night approached quickly, hiding her in its blackness.

She crept along for hours. She would have easily shot them long ago, but she was outnumbered and by the time that she had fired one shot, all the other guys would have pulled out their guns. It was all she could do to follow along behind slowly and quietly and pray for an idea on how to save him.

She could just make out their shapes ahead and hear their voices floating on the night breeze. "Shit Joey, this guy is heavy. Why couldn't we bring the truck?"

"Shut up Harry, you know why. This guys, science geek friends would easily be able to track us, if we drove a truck half way cross the desert! Now shut the hell up and keep pulling!"

Her heart was beating fast, she was trembling in every limb. As in a dream, Sara followed on; the web was drawing more and more tightly every moment around Grissom's life. She had abandoned any hope of saving him. As she walked on, she gazed around her into the darkness, and wondered where they were going, if they would fall into a death-trap which could be waiting for them.

Her feet were sore. Her knees shook under her, from sheer bodily fatigue. She had been pulling over time and double shifts, and had not had a quiet rest for three nights. She had walked on a slippery, sandy desert floor for nearly two hours, and yet her determination never swerved for a moment. She would see Grissom, and tell him everything.

She must have walked on in almost a trance, adrenaline alone keeping her up. Suddenly her ears, attuned to the slightest sound, told her that the cart had stopped, and that the men had halted. They had come to their destination.

The men stopped and pulled Grissom's limp body off of the cart. Dumping him on the ground, Fryson, the ex-convict kicked him hard in the gut, causing Grissom to groan weakly.

"NO!" The sound was out of her mouth before she could stop it. As if on cue, all six men turned around to her.

"Someone's out there."

"It's a woman. She must have followed us from the crime scene."

Suddenly four of the six men ran after. Run! Despite her screaming muscles and her aching feet, Sara got up from her hiding place and ran. She refused to leave Grissom there alone, and aimed to just run in a large circle, and hide in the dark.

On she pressed, forgetting the men on her track, running, stumbling, foot-sore, half-dazed, but still on. Suddenly, a stone threw her violently to the ground. She struggled again to her feet, and started running forward once more. But now she realised that other steps were already close at her heels. The next instant a hand caught her foot, and she was down on her knees, whilst something was wound round her mouth to prevent her from screaming.

Bewildered and half frantic she looked round her helplessly, and, bent down quite close to her, she saw a pair of malicious eyes. She lay in the shadow of a huge boulder. The man could not see her features, but he passed his thin, white fingers over her face.

"I've got her." He shone his flashlight over her body. "And she's a beauty at that. What should we do with her? Wouldn't want to waste something that pretty." He stroked her cheek with his rough hand, and Sara felt nauseous, but had not an ounce of strength left in her body. All she could was close her eyes and turn her face in the other direction.

Her senses were leaving her; half choked with the tight grip round her mouth, she had no strength to move or to utter the faintest sound. The adrenaline which all along had kept up her delicate body seemed to have subsided, and the feeling of despair to have completely paralyzed her brain and nerves.

Sara suddenly felt herself being lifted off her feet: the bandage round her mouth was made more secure, and a pair of strong arms carried her towards a tiny light. She looked around her for any sign of Grissom, but could not see through the thick darkness. She could only pray that he was okay.

Oh! think! think! think! What she should do? The minutes flew by; in this awful stillness she could not tell how fast or how slowly. Sara heard nothing, and saw nothing. More and more unreal did the whole situation seem. It was impossible that she, Sara Sidle, could be sitting out here in the desert, in the middle of the night, side by side with a bitter enemy.

As the moon appeared from behind a cloud, Sara could make out Grissom's body. He saw him stir and thanked the heavens that he pulled out of his unconsciousness. But her mind filled with horror as two of the kidnappers walked up to him with two long whips. Nooooooooo her mind screamed, but there was nothing she could do.

Sara sat back and mustered up all her strength and let out the loudest scream she could. Immediately she had another kidnapper upon her. "Shut the hell up bitch!" The slap to her cheek made her mind scream in pain, and pushed her over the edge into darkness.

Against a rock, on a hard bed of stone, lay the unconscious figure of Sara Sidle, while some few paces further on, Grissom was receiving on his broad back the blows of two stout whips, wielded by the muscular arms of two sturdy men.

John walked up to where Sara lay, and looked down into her face. She had recovered consciousness, and was making feeble efforts to raise herself. Her large, brown eyes were looking at the moonlit scene round her with a scared and terrified look. They rested with a mixture of horror and pity on Grissom whose screams had been the first signs that struck her, with her returning senses. Then she caught sight of John, in his neat, dark clothes, which seemed hardly crumpled after the stirring events of the last few hours. He was smiling sarcastically, and his pale eyes peered down at her with a look of intense malice.

"They weren't lying. You are a pretty face aren't you? I'd take you if I could, but you might escape to the police. Now we can't have that can we? So it looks like you and your boss will provide an excellent meal to the desert animals, while my boys and I make our get away. Goodnight Miss Sidle, and sweet dreams."

Sara listened--half-dazed as she was--to the fast-retreating, firm footsteps of the six men.

All nature was so still that she, lying with her ear close to the ground, could distinctly trace the sound of their footsteps. How long she lay there she didn't know. She had lost count of time.

The physical pain of utter weariness was so great, that she hoped her tired body could rest here for ever, here, beneath that clear sky, within sound of the desert, and with this balmy autumn breeze whispering to her a last lullaby. All was so solitary, so silent, like a dreamland. Even the last faint echo of the distant cart had long ago died away.

Half-raising herself on her hands, she strained every sense to see or hear.

All was still again for the space of a few seconds; the same silence once more fell upon the great and lonely vastness.

Then Sara, who had listened as in a trance, who felt she must be dreaming with that cool, magnetic moonlight overhead, heard again; and this time her heart stood still, her eyes large and dilated, looked round her, not daring to trust her other senses. Not far away from her, she heard soft grunting noises. Grissom? Could it be? Could he still be alive? With her last remaining strength she crawled her way over to the noise.

Grissom's back was against the pale moonlight, he was half crouching, trying vainly to raise himself with his arms tightly bound. Sara ran up to him, took his head in both her hands and look straight into a pair of blue eyes. "Oh my god Grissom! Are you okay? I'm so sorry. I should never have let this happen!" Tears of pain and joy ran down her tired cheeks.

Grissom too was weak, but he had a little strength left. "Shhh honey it's okay. It's okay."

"No it's not okay Grisosm, your hurt."

"Shhhhhh."

His hands were bound tightly, and she took his hands into hers. She had no knife, and her fingers were numb and weak, but she worked with her teeth, while great tears poured from her eyes.

Then he bent forward and looked longingly and searchingly into Sara's beautiful brown eyes.

"Grissom," she whispered, while a deep blush appeared on her delicate cheeks and neck, "if you only knew. . ."

"Honey, I know everything," he said with infinite gentleness.

"And can you ever forgive me?"

"I have nothing to forgive you for. Your heroism, your devotion… I didn't deserve for the things that I said earlier. It's me who was wrong Sara, and I am eternally sorry."

"Then you knew?. . ." she whispered, "all the time. . ."

"Yes!" he replied tenderly, "I knew. . .all the time. . . ."

"Grissom.. I-"

He silenced her with a finger to her lips. "Shhh. Sara Sidle, your beauty and knowledge has astounded me since the first day I met you, and I have loved you for just as long. But you have also scared me. The emotions that you made me feel, the things you did too me.. just by walking into a room, that scared me. This is all new to me Sara, but I…I'm willing to try… Sara Sidle, I love you."

Stunned by his words, fresh tears were brought to her eyes. "I love you too Grissom" she whispered.

Simultaneously, they leant in towards each other. Their lips met, and their first kiss was soft but passionate; releasing all the emotions that have been locked up for years. The need for air brought them apart, and they leant their foreheads against each other drinking in the night air.

She was sitting in his lap, with her arms wrapped protectively around her, leaning up against a rock, and he had rested his aching head on her shoulder

"Grissom, I don't get it. You were consiousness while they were after me. Why didn't you escape?"

"How could I?" He said gently, "while you were in danger, I had to remain here by your side"

Suddenly out of the darkess, they saw a bright light, which turned into four smaller flashlight beams. "GRISSOM? SARA?" Finally, after hours of torture, help had come. Walking towards them, with flashlights and frist aid kits in hand, was the relieved faces of Catherine, Warrick, Nick and Brass. "Oh thank god your all right. We were so worried. If it wasn't for the locator device in Sara's cell phone, I don't know if we would have ever found you two."

As they got closer they saw the wounds severly invlicted on Grissom, and the sores that ravaged Sara's body. A sharp gasp of horror escaped Catherine's throat. "Oh my-"

Brass took another step, "come one you two. There's paramedics waiting just a couple minutes away in a copter."

Nick and Warrick immediately ran over to help them up. After helping Grissom they reached out to Sara, but Grissom shook his head. "No it's okay guys, I'll get her."

A look of understanding registered on their faces, and a small hint of mischief was in Catherine's grin. "Alright boys, let's go. Follow us Griss, and Brass will bring up the rear."

His arms, still strong in spite of fatigue and suffering, closed round Sara's poor, weary body, and lifted her off the ground, as gently as if she had been a feather. "Come on honey, let's go home."

FIN