AN: I do not own any part of CSI. I wanted to start posting this story before the episode tonight, since I need the "miniature murderer" still on the loose for my plot. This story takes place sometime in the future after "Post Mortem", based on rumours floating around for the episode "Leaving Las Vegas". I don't have a beta yet, so if anyone's interested, let me know. I hope you like the story.

Prologue

Sighing, Sara turned the ignition off and leaned back against the seat for a moment. It had been a long shift; she had been called in early last night for a double at the Belagio, which meant that she hadn't been able to talk to Grissom since the previous morning. She had tried to call him on her way to the lab the night before, but he hadn't picked up. And now, because she had been forced to stay at the lab late to get results on DNA collected at the scene, she had missed his mid-morning call as well. Just great.

They usually talked twice a day. Since his first lecture started at nine, east coast time, and Sara was at the lab until at least six, most days until seven, he would call her at the eleven o'clock break he gave the students. Then she would call at some point during the evening, before heading for work.

Letting out another deep breath, Sara got out of the car and headed for the apartment building. Pressing the 'lock' button on the car key, she heard the doors lock behind her. Entering the building, she pushed her sunglasses onto her head to be able to see better. She was in luck, the elevator was waiting for her, so she quickly pressed the right button and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she travelled upwards.

Exiting the elevator, she pulled her keys from her pocket and quickly unlocked the door. Her eyes immediately went to the answering machine, and were met by blinking. She smiled to herself. At least she would get to hear his voice.

It had only been two months since he left for New York and NYU, and she had no idea how she was supposed to survive until he came back. She missed him more than she knew was possible, and every day was a little bit harder to get through. The fact that she had nobody that she could talk to didn't exactly help. She didn't want to bother Grissom with her childish feelings. Worst case scenario, he would be sympathetic and tell her that he missed her too, and that he would be home before she knew is. Best case (for her, anyway) he would cancel his remaining lectures and come home. But even then, she would be faced with knowing that she made him give up on something that he really wanted to do. So she said nothing.

More than once she had pondered coming clean to Catherine, the possibility to be able to talk to the other woman her biggest motivation. But she didn't want to tell anyone without talking to Grissom first, and then she was back at square one.

Quickly dropping her keys and cell phone on the table by the door, Sara crossed the living room and pressed the button to play messages.

"You have two new messages." The mechanical voice announced.

"Hey, it's me. I missed your call earlier, so I just wanted to see if I could reach you. I guess you're at the lab already. Anyway, just wanted to hear your voice. I'll call tomorrow. Love you."

Sara smiled as she pressed the delete button. A second later, the next message began.

"Hey, honey, I guess I missed you again. You must be pulling a double."

As she listened to the second message, Sara pulled the thin sweater she had been wearing off and went to close the blinds. She paused a moment, her eyes lost at the horizon, thoughts thousands of miles away.

"I'll call your cell on my lunch break, just turn it off if you need to sleep." Like she would miss the opportunity to talk to him for a couple of hours of sleep. "I have that dinner thing with the dean tonight, so I don't know when I'll be back, it may not be until late. If I don't pick up tonight, you know why."

Sara smiled at his caring voice. Ever since they started their relationship several months earlier, he had always been very – at times almost too – considerate about her feelings and the way she would interpret his actions. It was sweet. He always consulted her before making any decisions, and she knew that he wouldn't have taken the position in New York if she had asked him not to. Closing the blinds, she turned and headed for the bedroom, stopping just outside the door to listen to the rest of the message.

"OK, so I have to go. Eager minds waiting to learn and all that." He chuckled and Sara was glad, because it was obvious that he was enjoying teaching. Remembering she left her cell by the front door, she went to retrieve it so she wouldn't miss Grissom's call later. Checking that it was on, she turned to head back to the bedroom, but hadn't made it halfway through the living room when a hand grabbed her by the waist and a cloth was pressed against her mouth and nose. Before she had a chance to make a sound, everything went black.

"I'll talk to you later. Love you."