Here's another season premiere fic to add to the rest of them. I took more time with this one than I usually take with my fanfics. So hope you enjoy the chapter. Spoilers for 'Living Doll'.
It had been hours since she was taken and they had yet to find her. The desert spans four states they said. It would be nearly impossible to find her without an idea of where to look. Somehow they all knew what each other was thinking…without the exact location from Natalie Davis…they wouldn't get to Sara in time.
The rain pelted the bottom of the upturned car. If the rain continued it would not be long until the car was completely submerged with water. Her clothes were already soaked and caked with wet mud. Sara had tried endlessly to pull herself out of her muddy prison to no avail. She was still trapped under the car with the water level climbing dangerously high.
It wasn't enough that she had to pull that double shift several hours ago; she had to be kidnapped and placed under a car by some crazy suspect.
"Crazy people do make me feel crazy." She whispers spitting out some mud that had entered her mouth.
There were so many things she rather be doing than this…even listening to Greg talk about how crazy his college days were or pretending that Hodges' conversation on the politics of garden gnomes was actually as interesting as he claimed it was. Who was she kidding?...she rather be in this mess than listening Hodges' drag on about those gnomes.
A smile appeared on her face at the thought. Memories of the team flooded her mind. The many breakfasts and late lunches she shared with the team.
Diner – Breakfast"Come on just one little bite. It won't hurt ya." Greg said inching the forkful of meat towards Sara.
"What part of 'I'm a vegetarian' don't you get?"
"You don't know what you're missing." Greg said putting the chunk of meat in his mouth. Meat juice dripped down the sides of his mouth.
"Yeah, I rather not."
"Greg, use a napkin, will ya?" Nick said tossing him some napkins.
Greg spent the rest of the day by the toilet tossing his cookies and cursing the delicious steak. Food poisoning…go figure.
Time passed slowly as the team waited in the break room for the results. All the evidence was processed. There was nothing left to do, but wait…wait and hope that when they found her exact location it was not too late to save her.
Silence enveloped the room like a tight-fitted glove. The occasion drip of the old coffee machine was the only noise that reverberated the small room.
"What's taking so long?" Nick's voice ends the uncomfortable silence.
"Hodges is going as fast as he can, man." Was Warrick's response.
"I got it on good authority that those tests don't take as long as he says they do."
"Calm down, Nick. We'll find her." Warrick reassures Nick.
"I'm with, Nick. We gotta do something." The young CSI known as Greg says
"Well here's your chance." They turn towards the doorway to see Catherine.
"Dispatch reported an overturned car 10 miles outside of Vegas matching the description we gave them. Who's coming?"
"Me!!!" The three men say in unison following Catherine out the door.
The drive out to possible Sara's location would be a long one.
Greg looked out the window watching the rain beat against the window. His thoughts came back to the brunette they were trying to find.
"You remember the time Sara slipped and fell into one of Grissom's experiments?" Greg asks the other occupants of the vehicle. Warrick was the first to reply.
"The one with the sewage and slime. Yeah and can that girl run fast."
"Didn't think Grissom could run either." Nick says finally joining in the conversation.
"Did you see the fear in his eyes?" Catherine asks the guys from the passenger seat. Brass was silently driving towards their destination. "Wonder if she finally caught him."
A small smile appears on Brass' face despite his somber mood.
"Grissom!!!" Sara yelled. Her voice bounced down the glass hallway.
"I put up a sign." Grissom said in the most innocent face he could muster. He held up the sign to prove his point.
"I just got the smell out from the decomp earlier!" Catherine hands her a towel to wipe off the slime. "Thanks."
"I'm sorry but I did have that sign up." Grissom restated then added, "Another shower couldn't hurt."
"You're lucky."
"Why is that?" Grissom asked, confused etched into his features.
"Because the morgue is only a few feet away." Grissom's eyes widen and exits the room quickly with Sara not far behind. Warrick moved quickly out of the way before he and the evidence he brought back from ballistics are trampled. Nick and Greg watched the events from the safety of the trace lab.
A small chuckle escapes from Sara's lips. It hadn't taken Sara long to catch up to Grissom in his office where the door was closed promptly behind her.
She had to find a way out of this mess. She wasn't going to go out like this not under a car in the middle of nowhere. She had memories. Good ones not like the memories of her childhood.
Shaking the rest of the daze from the sedative she was given, Sara grabs onto to the soft mud and tries to slide herself out from under the car. The rain had softened the dirt enough for her to slide out easily.
She props herself up against the car in an effort to stand up. Her left leg buckles under the sudden weight. Her left ankle is either swollen or broken; she can't really tell by looking at it.
Sara hops to the nearest rock to sit and examine her injuries. The total comes out to a large gash above her right eyebrow - possibly the other reason behind her dizziness – and a swollen left ankle.
"Could be worse." Sara says. "Could be a lot worse."
"We're too late" Catherine says out loud as the guys reach the overturned car.
"What?!"
"Is she…"
"She's not here."
Catherine walks over to Grissom. He is sitting on the same rock Sara had sat on a few hours ago. Completely soaked from head to toe with his head in his hands.
"We'll find her."
"I know."
"You should go back to the lab, you're clothes are soaked. We can call you when we find her."
"No." His voice was above a whisper and a bit shaky. "I want to be there when we find her."
"At least change into the clothes I brought you."
Grissom nods his head and walks over to the Denali. Catherine lets out a sigh.
'We have to find her'
The bad thing about being in the desert out in the middle of nowhere is being lost in the desert in the middle of nowhere. The daze in her head confused her even more.
The rain continued to pour. She felt like she was going in circles. She found herself criticizing her own decision to leave the car that offered at least some protection from the relentless rain.
No she was right to leave. She would have drowned. But what if the team tracked down her previous location.
'Great just great.'
She walks a couple of feet before she loses her footing and falls to the wet ground. Either her mind was playing tricks with her or her ankle was even more swollen than she first thought.
Sara also notices a few more scrapes on her arms as the rain washed away some of the mud. Pulling herself up she continues on her way. She had to survive. So much in her life has gone wrong. She did not want it to end on a bad note.
The hope that Grissom and the rest of the team were out in the desert searching for her gave her the necessary push forward.
"She could be anywhere now." Nick says dejectedly.
"We'll find her." Greg says hopefully.
"Will everyone stop saying that! We haven't found her yet and it's already too dark to see anything."
"We're not giving up, Nicky." Warrick reassures him.
"Sara tougher than I give her credit for sometimes. A little rain won't stop her." Catherine yells through the rain.
Meanwhile at the station…
"I heard the officers talking they say you haven't found Sara."
Sophia sits across from Natalie Davis.
"But Sara will be found."
"Not in time." Sophia eyes widen at Natalie's statement.
"What do you mean?"
"Something is wrong with her little insides."
"What did you do to her?!" Sophia slams her hands on the table startling Natalie.
"Hurry as fast as you can…"
Sophia is out of the room before Natalie can continue. She pulls out her cell phone and dials Catherine's number.
Something was wrong. She felt it. Her vision seemed to get blurrier by the minute. At that moment it hit her, Natalie must have drugged her with something else besides a sedative. It made her weaker and gave her a sense of nausea.
Her hands reach instinctively for the necklace around her neck. Grissom had given it to her on their anniversary. It was beautiful. He claimed it didn't cost as much as it looked, but she knew different. Now it was covered in mud.
She threw up the remnants of her late dinner. She now knew something was wrong. She tried to catalogue various drugs she knew that would have that particular affect on her but came up empty. She felt so dizzy.
She collapsed to the floor unconscious, as the rain seemed to slow to a light drizzle.
That's all for now. Hoped you enjoyed the chapter. Please review and tell me what you think.
Until Next Time,
Ancient 85
