New story as promised :) Part-request from Foxfire01 - I hope you all enjoy it :)

Disclaimer: Don't own CSI or its characters etc

x x x x

"Guys." Grissom interrupted, poking his head around the door. "Potential 402A in progress at a high-rise apartment building Downtown."

"Arson." Warrick shifted naturally into professionalism mode, raising an eyebrow. "What's the address?" Grissom narrowed his eyes at the note in his hand.

"Cambridge Park Towers. Vartann is meeting us there."

"Wait, hold up." Nick jumped in swiftly before the boss could disappear. "Cambridge Park?"

"Yeah." Grissom frowned. "Do you know it?"

The Texan swallowed hard, sharing a knowing look with the equally-panicked Greg. "That's Sara's building."

X x x

The car screeched to a halt halfway down the road and the team piled out, abandoning the vehicle where it had landed.

Thick black smoke billowed out of the windows of the ten-story building, as bright flames licked at the crisp night air.

Debris and cracked stone fell from the walls, raining down on the devastated residents gathered below. They barely seemed to notice, their expressions empty and pale with devastation as they watched their home burn.

From in amongst the amassed crowd, Detective Vartann materialised beside them.

"I've checked with everyone I can find, there's no sign of Sara." He puffed, cutting straight to the point. "The firemen are getting people out as they find them but they haven't been able to get to the top floors yet."

"What about the paramedics," Nick asked hurriedly, gesturing to the fleet of ambulances scattered haphazardly between the fire engines and police cars. "Maybe one of them has her?"

"No, I've checked." Vartann insisted breathlessly. "No one's seen her. I'm sorry."

As he spoke, one particularly familiar EMT broke through the crowd, hurtling towards the CSIs.

"Is Sara with you?" He asked frantically, skidding to a halt beside Warrick.

"No, it's her night off." The dark-skinned man answered sombrely, his gaze fixed on the flames practically leaping up the building.

Despite the gravity of the situation, Grissom's curiosity was peaked and he narrowed his eyes at the paramedic. He recognised the man from somewhere, but couldn't put a face to the name.

Hank, maybe?

A deafening bang echoed around them as a seventh-story window blew out with a massive explosion and what could only be described as a fireball erupted across the sky.

Once the screams died down, a stunned silence fell over the crowd as the severity of this sank in. Nothing short of a miracle from God could save the people trapped on the seventh floor upwards now.

"What floor does Sara live on?" Gil asked hoarsely.

"Four." Nick squeaked, wiping subtly at his eyes. There was still a chance for her.

Suddenly a dozen firemen poured out of the front doors and the crowd was forcibly moved back several feet by the police guards.

"What's going on?" Warrick asked, collaring a nearby fire chief.

"Flashover." He replied bluntly – a little needlessly really, since he'd already worked that out. "We can't go back in until the building's safer."

"But there are people still inside!" Greg yelped frenetically, his voice rising with fear. "Our friend is in there!"

"I can't risk the life of my men." The chief insisted, breaking free from the group and dashing off in another direction. The team released frustrated groans, each fidgeting nervously on the ash-coated ground. Warrick stared up at the inferno, his heart clenching at the thought that Sara was in there somewhere, fighting for her every breath.

"We can't just do nothing." He hissed, more to himself than anyone around him.

"You got a better suggestion?" Hank asked as he hopped nervously from one foot to the other, keeping a relatively safe distance from the group. He was not, after all, their favourite person – even if it was years since he and Sara had broken up. Although, he had to concede that recent events could have something to do with that. Still, the relevance of the address hadn't even registered until he arrived on the scene.

"Yeah, I do." Warrick muttered darkly, taking a step closer to the building.

"Warrick." Grissom warned, flashing his colleague a warning glare. "Don't you dare."

Ignoring the caution, and with a complete disregard for his own safety, the dark-skinned man pushed past the police guard and darted towards the blaze.

"Warrick!" Nick hollered, to no avail. By now, Warrick was so close to the crackling flames that he could barely hear his own thoughts. Nick moved to follow him, but Gil and Vartann caught the younger CSI by his arms, yanking him forcefully back.

"No Nick!" Grissom barked, his blue eyes trying to seek out his lost man in the mask of smoke.

Warrick was nowhere to be seen, but he briefly caught sight of the EMT disappearing into the smog behind him.

X x x

"You've got to get them out!" Brass hollered, having arrived late to the party and immediately launched into an attack on the Fire Chief.

"They went in of their own accord." The aging man in the fluorescent jacket, getting surlier by the minute, reiterated. "My men are getting people out as fast as they find them.

"If they die in there…"

"It'll be their own fault." He cut the detective off abruptly. "Don't you think we have enough to deal with without having to rescue renegade police officers?"

He stropped off towards a group of his men, leaving Jim puffing angrily in his wake.

"Any news from Catherine yet?" He breathed, shuffling back towards Grissom.

"No, she's not answering." Gil sighed.

"Neither is Sara." Greg added, dancing impatiently from one foot to the other as they waited for news. He had been praying that by some grace of God she would be out somewhere tonight, although he knew the chance was slim under the curcumstances.

The waiting was killing them. Having Sara lost in there was bad enough, but the prospect of losing two members of their team in one night was unbearable.

Nick was struggling the most. He and Warrick were partners, if one of them was in danger the other should be right behind them, backing them up. Instead, he was dancing around outside like a war-widow, waiting for news.

Suddenly a silhouette appeared in the smoke. They all moved forwards, squinting to get a better look.

"Warrick!" Nick yelled, relief flooding his features as he ducked under the police tape – erected after Warrick and Hank's kamikaze mission – and sprinted towards his friend.

The team breathed a unanimous sigh of relief to see a female figure in his arms, slumped against his chest. But only as he got closer did they realise that it was not who they were expecting to see.

"Catherine?" Grissom gasped.

The rest of the team burst forwards, reaching out to their colleagues as Warrick sank to his knees and carefully placed the unconscious blonde on the floor.

"I couldn't find Sar …" He choked. "And … I lost Hank."

An oxygen mask was placed over his mouth before he could say anymore and two paramedics flocked around Catherine's prone body.

"I found her in Sara's bed." Rick managed to gasp between deep gulps of oxygen.

"What about Sara?" Greg pleaded. "Where is she?"

All Warrick could do was shake his head in loss, sadness clouding his emerald green eyes.

"Code 10." One of the EMTs uttered nearby.

"We need to move her." Another stated.

The men watched with grave concern as Catherine's underwear-clad body was wrapped in a blanket and lifted carefully onto a stretcher.

"Warrick, you go too." Grissom insisted, pushing the breathless man towards the ambulance.

"Sara…" He murmured.

"We'll call you with any information." The supervisor was adamant. "Stay with Catherine."

Nick and Greg shared a desperate look, torn between concern for their injured colleagues and urgency for the missing friend.

As the ambulance peeled out of the parking lot with half the Graveyard team on board, another figure emerged stumbling from the building.

"Oh God." Nick gasped, lunging forwards yet again to catch Sara before Hank dropped her limp body. The EMT willingly relinquished his grip on the woman, before collapsing to the ground.

"She's not breathing." He coughed feebly.

Two of his colleagues appeared at his side, attempting to help him, but he pushed them away and gestured to Sara.

She, though wearing marginally more clothing than Catherine, appeared to have been more affected by the fire. Her skin was red raw and coated in unburned smoke.

As another ambulance appeared and flung the doors open, Nick barely waited for it to stop before striding up the ramp, where he placed her gently on the stretcher.

"Nick, let Hank go too." Grissom instructed, eyeing the struggling paramedic with concern.

"I'm not leaving her." Nick insisted insolently, gripping her hand tightly as she was hooked up to an IV and heart monitor.

"Nick!" Brass hollered, leaving no room for argument in his voice.

Reluctantly, the young man climbed out and Hank was helped up in his place.

"Where are you taking her?" Greg hollered over the roaring of activity around them.

"Desert Palms." A distant voice called back, before the doors were slammed shut and the vehicle tore through the crowd into the murky distance.

Nick rubbed a hand over his face.

Grissom stared grimly at the fading blue lights.

Greg had tears streaming down his face, although whether they were from the smoke or the fear of losing his friends was unknown.

Brass was the first to speak, his normally gruff voice oddly soft.

"What the hell happened here tonight?"

Six months earlier…

"You hauled ass from the California state line for this?"