Thanks for the reviews so far guys,

KC x

x x x x

"Evening guys." Grissom announced, surveying the room upon his arrival and immediately noting that one of his guys was missing. "Where's Sara?"

"Not in yet." Catherine answered, flicking absently through her magazine. Grissom frowned, looking at his watch pointedly.

"Maybe she's running late." Nick offered, although the words didn't sound quite right to his own ears. In all the years of working in Vegas, Sara had never once been late. When there was a long moment of uncomfortable silence, Cath took the hint and pulled out her cell.

"I'll call her."

"Good." Grissom nodded, turning back to the rest of his team. He scrutinised Nick and Warrick for a second; debating whether or not it would be safe to pair them together. There was still some residual tension from the previous shift but so far there had been no sparks. Deciding to risk it, he held out the manila folder. "Okay, guys you have a 419 off strip. Brass is meeting you there."

"I'll drive." Nick said, snatching the report from the boss' hand.

"Uh huh, not if we want to get there before sun-up." Warrick teased. Judging by Nick's stony expression, sleeping on it had not healed any wounds from the day before. Just as Gil was about to issue a warning, Catherine's panicked voice cut him off.

"Hey Grissom," She called, cutting through the mood. "She's not answering." Everyone turned to the concerned blonde. "I tried three times, went to voicemail every time."

X x x

"Maybe she's stuck in traffic." Greg suggested, having joined the group when he noticed the tumult.

"Nah, she'd have called someone to let them know." Nick disregarded the comment. "She could have crashed."

"I've called dispatch, there's been no accidents called in involving a car of her description in the last two hours." Cath answered. "They're still checking RTAs earlier in the day."

Nick nodded slowly, a thought striking him. He spun on his heel to face Warrick, who had dropped onto the couch with his head in his hands. "Hey Rick, didn't you and her go for a drink this morning?"

"Uh, yeah. Yeah." The dark-skinned man nodded, frowning.

"Well, was she okay when you left her?" Catherine asked, studying his puzzled face with concern. "Did she seem alright to you?"

"Yeah, I think so. Yeah, she was fine." He nodded, steadily becoming more sure of himself. Cath and Grissom exchanged a silent look of worry over his uncertain answers.

"Well, just to be sure I'm going to have Brass send a uniform to her apartment and put an APB out on her car." Gil said.

"Okay." Cath nodded, waving her phone at him. "I'll keep trying to get in touch with her just in case she finds her way back to her phone."

"Good." He nodded, turning to flick his gaze between the boys. "Greg, why don't you go with Nick to the scene instead?" He suggested after a long minute.

"Me?" Greg seemed as surprised by this as Warrick did.

"Yeah, it'll be good field experience for you."

"I want to help find Sara." Nick jumping in with a scowl.

"We'll call you as soon as we hear anything. Days can take over from there." Catherine promised, already heading towards the hall with Greg hot on her heels – he wasn't about to stick around long enough for Grissom to change his mind. Nick took a deep breath and sloped out after them, resigning himself to his job.

"What about me?" Rick piped up, hurt. Grissom gave the man a once over.

"You need to sober up." He commented at last, turning to leave. Warrick watched him go, dismayed. Running a hand through his springy hair, he released a heavy breath and kicked out at the coffee table angrily.

Sara must have been fine when he'd left her. He may not remember much from last night, but he'd remember that.

X x x

"I don't give a damn about the cost; I want a news bulletin and I want every officer called in. We're going to scour every street in Vegas if we have to." Brass barked into the phone as he stalked down the corridor. He spotted Ecklie coming towards him and nodded to get his attention. "I want her found. Now." On that definitive note he hung up and waited for the lab director to address him.

"What's the deal with the APB? Any results?"

"No, and the officer that attended her apartment found nothing untoward. It was secure and there was no sign of her or her car." The detective filled him in. "No one's seen her in over 15 hours now." Ecklie had never seen the stoic man so distressed, even if he was attempting to hide it behind anger.

"Keep trying. Let me know as soon as you get anything." He paused, gesturing to Brass' phone. "Was that the Sherriff?"

"Yeah." Jim growled, clearly not impressed by what he'd had to say. "He's not making it easy." Ecklie nodded, already guessing what the conversation had consisted of.

"I'll deal with it."

X x x

"Criminalist Sara Sidle of the Las Vegas Crime Lab has been reported missing by police tonight." Catherine shook her head, trying to drown out the news reader's shrill voice as she sat with her back to the TV, checking through Sara's recent case files for any enemies she may have acquired. "She was last seen by one of her colleagues early this morning and Police officers are currently searching for her car; it's a silver Toyota Prius…

"Hey," Wendy's voice startled her out of her thoughts. "Any word on Sara yet?"

"No." Cath sulked, staring at her phone's black screen with desperation. "Brass is still trying to get hold of her landlord to see if she even made it home last night." Wendy nodded, taking a deep, calming breath. She never had been very good at controlling her emotions during times like this, but right now Catherine looked like she was on the verge of tears and Wendy guessed that her falling apart would not help the strawberry-blonde much.

So instead, she settled for placing a caring hand on the CSI's shoulder. To her surprise, the normally unshakable CSI responded by gripping her hand tightly, clinging onto the support.

X x x

Sofia spotted the car from fifty feet away. She narrowed her eyes against the setting sun, speeding towards the vehicle left forsaken by the side of the desert road.

She had heard the APB and recognised the licence plate before they'd even mentioned the owner's name. It was true, Sara and her and never been close but she didn't let that stop her from abandoning her morning jobs to scour the streets in search of the car.

Swerving in behind it she realised that she could see the silhouette of someone in the driver's seat. Holstering her weapon – just in case – she climbed out and stalked towards the front.

As she got past the glare of the sun, she could clearly make out the driver.

Breathing a sigh of relief, she placed her weapon back in its holster and rapped on the window, scaring the life out of the brunette. She saw Sara's eyes scanning her face for a moment before finally deciding it was safe to unlock the doors.

Sofia opened the passenger door and climbed in, mentally documenting all the injuries that she could already see. Whatever had happened, Sara had taken a fair beating.

"Are you okay?" It seemed like a stupid question but it was the first thing that came to her mind. Sara didn't answer, just resumed staring straight ahead out of the window, so Sofia continued. "Everyone's worried about you. We've been trying to reach you all night."

"I know." Sara mumbled, gesturing to her phone that lay discarded on the dashboard. "I didn't know what to say."

Right now, Sofia found herself in a similar situation. She used the awkward moment that followed to take a closer look at Sara's injuries. She needed medical attention; that much was blatantly obvious.

"Come on." She said softly, reaching out a hand. "I'll take you somewhere safe." Sara stared at her offered hand for a long moment before finally accepting it with her own. Her own shaking, blood-streaked hand.

X x x

"Do you think she might have left town?" Grissom asked. Half an hour ago that had seemed like an outrageous suggestion; but that was half an hour ago and Sara was still missing.

"I don't know." Cath ran a hand through her hair as she paced around his office. She was so lost in her frantic thoughts that she jumped when her phone rang. "Oh!" She squeaked, fumbling for it so fast that it nearly slipped from her grasp.

It wasn't Sara.

"Willows?"

Grissom held his breath, studying her face for any clue. Any sign of hope.

"Oh thank God." She breathed after a tense few seconds. "Yeah, we're on our way." She hung up, turning to the expectant man hovering behind her. "Sofia found her. She's taken her to hospital."

"Is she alright?" Gil asked, already heading to the door. "Where was she?"

"She was in her car off towards Area 51. Sofia said she was injured but couldn't tell how much, just that she was bleeding."

"Well, at least she's in one piece." Grissom sighed, sending a silent thanks to the man upstairs.

X x x

"For whoever is listening, we've found her. Repeat: Sara Sidle is safe and en route to the hospital." Catherine rattled off into the radio as Grissom navigated the busy streets towards Desert Palms.

"What do you think happened to her?" Gil asked once she put the radio back.

"I don't know." Cath groaned, dragging her fingers through her hair. "I just hope she's alright."

X x x

Warrick blinked, trying to clear his vision. The pills had been burning a hole in his pocket for too long, he couldn't take it anymore. Slipping them back into his coat, his took another long sip of his whiskey. The barman had wisely decided to leave him alone and, even though it was a busy time of night and the bar was full, most of the other customers seemed to be giving him a wide birth as well.

He must be bringing the mood down.

All around him Major C chord chimed away to the happy winners, but Warrick couldn't hear anything. He dropped his head into his hands, mimicking his earlier position in the break room, when the radio clipped to his belt crackled into life.

"For whoever is listening, we've found her. Repeat: Sara Sidle is safe and en route to the hospital." Catherine's words seeped through the fog in his mind, taking a minute to register.

"Thank God." He muttered, casting his drink aside and racing back to his car. Climbing into his Acura, pushing junk food wrappers aside as he did so, he kicked the engine into gear and pulled out without bothering to check the mirrors or buckle up.