I know this is a bit different that what really happened. I wrote this just after the season Seven Cliffhanger. We get to the post rescue soon so please bear with me as we get there. I decided to leave the story as I had originally written it. Thanks for reading.

Grissom was sitting at his desk still holding Sara's jacket. There was a knock at the door.

"Come in.", His voice is weak and it's obvious he has been crying.

Catherine entered

"We are making progress. She is being cryptic. But she is giving us clues. We are narrowing our search areas."

Grissom, in a flat voice, "Good"

Catherine left without saying any more. It was hard for her to see her friend in such pain.

Grissom was too tired to get mad. He just wanted to find Sara. His first instinct was to run out to find her but where would he look? He needed to follow the evidence just like he has always told his team. The evidence will lead them to Sara, but will it be in time. No!! He had to drive his thoughts from his head. Don't think like that. She is still alive he could feel it in his bones. His thoughts turned to her again and again the tears flowed.

Again, there was a knock at the door. It was Greg. He had the results of the soil analysis.

Grissom, calmer this time, "Do you have something?"

"Yes"

"What is it?"

"The soil has high concentrations of pollutants and particles of broken glass and pesticides. Judging from the soil type and content, I'd say that we were looking for a wash or drainage ditch that leads from the city. I hope this helps"

"Thanks Greg. I'm sorry for earlier." Grissom knew he had jumped on Greg without provocation.

"No problem. If there is anything I can do please let me know."

"Talk to Catherine. They are looking at maps. This may help"

Greg left to look for Catherine to give her the new information.

Grissom again talked to the absent Sara, "Hang on Sara, we're close."

Catherine barged in without knocking. Grissom looked up at her in shock. She scared the hell out of him. She was out of breath."We've got a possible location!! I've got a chopper on the way!"

Grissom almost can't believe it. He was paralyzed for a moment and didn't move or speak.

"Are you coming?!"

Grissom grabbed his jacket and ran out.

Grissom:"Let's go now!!"



They went outside where the chopper was waiting for them. Grissom and Catherine got in the chopper and took off. Catherine gave the pilot coordinates and they took off in the direction of the desert. It took about fifteen minutes to get to the location. It was a wash that is running with water due to the rain. There was a fair amount of flowing water. The spot light was moving back and forth. They were searching and searching.

Catherine saw a glimpse of something. "Stop!! Circle around"

Grissom's head snapped around and sought out what she saw. "What?"

"I saw a car upside down. ...There! Set her down right there."

Grissom leapt from the chopper before it was completely down and ran to the car. He saw a hand but it wasn't moving!

Grissom called to her. "Sara, Sara"

He grabbed her hand and squeezed it. It was cold. He felt for a pulse. It was weak but it was there.

Grissom felt a wave of relief flood over him. He called to the others, "She's alive"

"I'll call for help" (into her radio) "We found Sara Sidle! I need rescue crews and a Medivac here ASAP. She is trapped under a car."

Grissom called to her again, "Sara! Can you hear me? Answer me!

Sara weakly squeezed his hand but said nothing.

Grissom reassured her, "Help is on the way. Hang on!!" He whispers to her "Sara, I love you"

She continued to hold his hand but the pressure of the car and her injuries prohibit her form talking.

30 minutes later Nick and Warrick arrived. They saw the rescue crew just getting ready to lift the car off Sara. Grissom was still sitting in the rain holding her hand. He continued to talk to her but she was not able respond.

Nick came over to Grissom and put his hand on his shoulder. "Grissom, you have to move and let them get her out"

Grissom finally got up as the rescue crew began to use large inflatable air bags to move the car off Sara. When the car was finally off of her the paramedics rushed in to help her. Nick and Warrick had to hold Grissom back. He was trying to get to Sara. She had a large laceration on her head and broken ribs. She is having great trouble breathing. The paramedics got her ready for transport and loaded her in the chopper. Grissom went in the chopper with her.

Grissom turned to the team, "Process this scene. We need to nail Natalie for this."

Catherine yelled back over the chopper noise, "Call when you know something."

Grissom yelled back, "I will"

The helicopter took off as the team got to work on the scene.

Grissom asked the Paramedic, "Can I talk to her?"



"Yes, but take it easy. She is very weak."

Grissom again turned his attention to Sara. It broke his heart to see her like this. "Sara, can you hear me?"

Sara opens her eyes and looked at Grissom. It was difficult for her to talk due to the oxygen mask she was wearing. She was weak and in obvious pain. Grissom saw that pain and moved closer. He was close to her face and began to stroke her hair.

Grissom, in a tender voice, "I love you"

Sara reached for his hand and he took it.

Sara weakly said, "I...love...you."

As they got to the hospital she passed out. The paramedics rushed over and began working on her again. She had a pulse but she was very weak. When they landed, Sara was rushed into the ER. Grissom went to the waiting room.

Sara was in critical condition. The doctors worked to stabilize her. She had seven broken ribs, one of which has punctured her lung, internal bleeding, a concussion, and skull fracture. The doctor came out to talk to Grissom. Grissom was sitting in the waiting room with his face buried in his hands.

"Excuse me, are you here for Sara Sidle?

Grissom jumped up, his heart beating so fast it felt like it would explode. He was thinking please let her be alive.

Grissom swallowed hard and answered, "Yes"

The doctor began telling Grissom about Sara's condition. "We took her to surgery. She has a punctured lung, broken ribs, a skull fracture and internal bleeding that we have to get under control. She is in critical condition. She has lost a lot of blood.

Grissom chocked out, "Will she..."

"It all depends. She could go either way. They need to get the bleeding stopped. I'll have someone take you to the surgical waiting room. You can wait there and the surgeon will come to take to you when she is out of surgery. She is lucky to have made it this far"

"Thank you, Doctor."

The Doctor asked the nurse, "Nurse will you please show this gentleman to the surgical waiting room."

Grissom followed the nurse to the waiting room. He called Catherine to let her know what was going on and check the progress on the scene. Then he waited. It took three agonizing hours. He counted the tiles in the floor. He counted the tiles in the ceiling. He counted the chairs in the waiting room. He counted how many times the doors opened. He ran out of things to count.

Catherine walked in and sits next to Grissom. "Any news?"

"No"



Catherine filled him in on what had been happening while he waited. "We processed what was left of the scene. The rain washed away most of the evidence. We found a few prints inside the car. We had the car towed to the garage at the lab. Nick is running the prints now. Warrick is working on the car."

Grissom nodded his head and his thoughts returned to Sara...I can't lose you now. Please, Sara, be ok... I need you...

The silence was broken by the surgeon's voice. Grissom nearly jumped out of his skin as he rose from his seat.

"Dr. Grissom?"

"Yes?" He was afraid to ask the question because it might be bad news.

The surgeon recounted the events of the surgery for Grissom. "She made it through the surgery. It was touch and go for a while. She is in critical condition. It could go either way. She lost a lot of blood. We need to keep her liver functioning. It sustained severe damage."

Grissom heard little after she made it. "When can I see her?"

"Are you her husband?"

"Not yet. She has no blood relations."

"Let us get her settled in her room and I will come get you in about 20 minutes."

"Thank you, Doctor." He shakes the surgeon's hand.

The intercom blared, "Code blue in recovery, Code blue in recovery."

"Excuse me.", the surgeon yelled back over his shoulder as he ran back through the doors.

Grissom stands frozen, staring at the doors as tears roll down his cheek.

Grissom in a weak and breathy voice, "Sara!"

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A/N: Please leave a review. I would love to know what you think. Thanks, Carol