This is the last chapter. Thanks for those who have reviewed, and thanks to my betas; Just Thinking, Amanda Hawthorn, & thegreatbluespoon.

And for reading this, there is a treat at the end. Thanks everyone.

Framed by Innocence

As Thomas steered the car towards University Hospital, Catherine sat silent in the back seat watching as Grissom, who was seated next to Thomas, stare aimlessly through the windshield. Although her heart grew heavy with concern, there was something else she couldn't quite put her finger on, but before she could explore her thoughts further, the car came to a screeching stop just outside the hospital's front doors. Grissom was out in record time; Thomas tossed the keys at the parking attendant, as Catherine struggled to keep up. She followed Thomas as he pursued Grissom.

They reached the third floor; Grissom rushed out of the elevators and made a bee-line towards Sara's room. Her guard was still standing at the door, and when Grissom tried to enter, he was quick to prevent him.

"Let me go!" Grissom stood face to face with the guard, unyielding as his chest puffed out and his teeth gritted in an attempt to enter the room that held his future.

"I'm sorry sir." The guard put his hands up in an attempt to stop Grissom.

Thomas was at the arguing men in an instant. "He was acquitted. You can let him in. I have the paperwork down in my car. If you want, I can go and get them, but something tells me by the time I get back, he'll have already made his way in there." The guard looked at Thomas reading his eyes. He could tell the man wasn't lying, as he slacked his hold on Grissom

He entered the semi-dark room and found the bed empty. Grissom came rushing back out to the nurses' station. "Where is she? She's not in her room."

The red head was sitting calmly behind a computer. She looked up at him before pushing a few more keys. "She's currently getting an MRI. Are you…Grissom?"

He nodded. "What happened?"

"Well, Miss Sidle woke up. She was calling out the name Grissom."

Grissom's face lit up at the new information. "Sara's awake?"

The red head nodded and continued typing. Suddenly Grissom felt his heart leap for joy. His Sara was awake. He walked back to a concerned looking Catherine and Thomas.

Catherine reached out to comfort him. "What's going on Gil?"

He looked up, still somewhat shocked before cracking a smile. "Sara's awake. She's awake." His eyes welled up with happiness as the thought of seeing and being with her again was suddenly possible. Catherine was hugging him by the time he came back to reality. Thomas was standing in front of him, his smile extending from ear to ear at the news. They entered the vacant room, sat down, and patiently waited for Sara to return.

It was nearly an hour of hair pulling for Grissom before the door was pushed open. Several nurses pushed in the bed, and repositioned it. He stood and impatiently waited for them to move away. When they did leave, Grissom was quick to take up Sara's hand and gaze over her sleeping face. He reached a hand to softly caress her cheek. At the contact, Sara's eyes fluttered open.

"Gil." Her voice was soft and full of exhaustion.

"I'm here honey, I'm here." He smiled down at her as she let her head fall into his hands. At this point all he wanted to do was make her feel safe.

Sara let her eyes close as she leaned into Grissom's hand. It was warm and comforting. Earlier, when she had woken up, she had been disoriented and ready to pick up the fight where it had left off. It had taken several nurses to calm her down. She had asked about Grissom, and they assured her he was still in town and that they would find him, but they did leave out a key piece of information.

Grissom was content at the moment just to hold her hand. He knew that she would eventually find out about him being accused of hurting her. It was something he thought she needed to hear from him, and not over the TV. It seemed every local news station camped outside of the hotel and courtroom. He was about to say something when he noticed Sara had fallen asleep. Grissom never released her hand as he reached to pull a chair up to sit beside her bed.

Catherine and Thomas left shortly after Sara fell asleep; they were planning to aid in the search for Sara's attacker. Grissom remained at her bedside, until she woke back up, and once again she was ready to fight.

Sara's arms and legs flailed about fighting off an imaginary person. "Get off me! Get off!" She screamed as her eyes remained tightly shut.

"Sara! Sara, it's okay, it's me, it's Gil." He tried to wake her, his concern growing at her distress.

Once her eyes opened and she saw him, Sara sat up suddenly and wrapped her arms around him. She cried into his shoulder as his hands gently rubbed up and down her back trying to soothe her as she sobbed.

"Shhh, it's alright," he soothed. "Everything's alright. I'm here, you're safe." Grissom continued speaking softly attempting to calm her.

Eventually, Sara did pull back to look at him. He wanted to lean in and give her a soft kiss, but after what she had been through, he didn't know how welcome it would be. She beat him to it, and moved to kiss his cheek. Grissom kissed her back before she pulled away.

"They tell me I was in a coma." Grissom nodded. "Did I do anything like that?"

His face fell; he knew he needed to tell her what he had been though the past week and a half. "Sara, honey, I need to tell you some things. Now, just please listen, alright?" She nodded and he moved to prop up her pillows so she was able to sit up comfortably. He released a sigh as he began. "Honey, do you remember what happened to you?" Grissom watched as tears filled her eyes. She didn't need to give any further acknowledgement. "I found you not long after." Her eyes filled and gravity pulled the pooling tears down her face. "I did everything I could to help you, and in the process, I…incriminated myself."

Sara shook her head. "But it wasn't you." Her statement was barely a whisper.

"I know, but they didn't believe me. I was arrested and tried." Sara's face turned to shock at the sudden turn of events. "Catherine and my attorney flew out here to help, and in the process, Cath discovered who attacked you."

She was still in shock over the whole thing. "You were arrested?" Grissom nodded. "But your job, you'll lose it."

He took up both of her hands in his trying to calm her. "I'm not worried about any of that right now; I'm only concerned with you. I want to make sure you're alright."

Sara leaned forward and Grissom wrapped his arms around her being mindful of her injuries. Once again her sobs began to shake her. "I don't ever want to leave you again. I'm sorry I was so stubborn."

"Sara, this wasn't your fault. Don't ever think that this is because of something you wanted." He paused as his own voice caught with emotion.

Grissom held Sara as they let the silence fall over them. Neither wanted to dwell on the part of what had occurred, but then a knock came at the door. Sara attempted to dry her eyes as Catherine slowly entered.

"Hey you. How are you feeling?" She moved to sit in a chair next to Sara and Grissom.

Sara gave a slight shrug to her shoulders. "As good as could be expected I suppose."

Catherine smiled and put her hand on Sara's arm. "I'm glad to see you're alright." She pulled out a file. "Sara, I need to ask about your attack." Catherine noticed Sara tense at the mention of that afternoon.

Grissom squeezed her hands, and she turned her head to look into his eyes. They were full of remorse and strength. He wanted nothing more than to help her.

"Sara, do you remember anything?" Catherine asked softly.

She nodded. "I remember everything; his face, his clothes, his smell." As she spoke suddenly bile began to rise as her stomach churned. Her face turned and quickly Grissom realized she was going to be sick. He grabbed a nearby pan just in time as Sara attempted to throw up the contents of her stomach, which was very little.

Grissom rubbed circles on her back trying to aid her as he glared at Catherine, almost condemning her for even bringing the subject up. She looked back at him, silently telling him he knows it has to be done. After Sara had calmed down, Catherine opened the folder and retrieved a mug shot.

"Sara, I have a picture of who we believe did this to you. Would you be willing to take a look at it?" Catherine grasp the photo waiting for her confirmation. "Other than the hotel surveillance, this is the only picture they have of the guy."

Grissom continued to soothe her. "You don't have to do this now."

She shook her head. "I'm fine." Sara extended her hand to accept the picture from Catherine. It only took a slight glance to confirm the face of her nightmare. Sara nodded. "It's him, but he didn't have the goatee." She quickly handed the picture back to Catherine.

Catherine was waiting to ask one more question, and before she could ask Sara brought it up herself.

"And yes, if you find him, I will testify. I'm not going to let him ruin my life."

Grissom smiled, and Catherine placed a comforting hand on Sara's arm. "You're very brave Sara. I envy you for that. Don't worry we'll find him." She stood and left.

Sara turned back to Grissom. "Do you think they'll really find him?"

He could only shrug his shoulders. "They'll get his picture out there, and hope someone will spot him. You know the odds as much as I do."

She nodded and leaned forward into Grissom's arms. He held her firmly giving her the strength she needed to keep going.

A week had past and Catherine along with the Madison CSI's, were unable to locate Lloyd Butler, he had dropped completely off the map. They searched his apartment only to find that he had quickly packed what he could carry and split.

Sara was released from the hospital and Grissom had quickly booked them and Catherine a plane ticket back to Vegas. Thomas returned to Sin City the day after Grissom's acquittal. They were waiting in the terminal for their plane to board. Sara was leaning into Grissom while Catherine was on her cell phone arguing with Lindsey.

Grissom was constantly looking around, thinking that Lloyd was behind every corner just waiting for Sara to get separated so he could finish the job. Sara was more confident that he had skipped town like the Madison PD suspected. Yet, she still never let herself be more than ten feet away from Grissom.

Catherine hung up the phone as the announcement came over the PA that their plane was boarding. They each handed their ticket and headed onto the plane. Not all too far away, a sandy blonde haired man spit the remains of his last Copenhagen dip into an empty pop bottle, as he watched the fascinating blonde and brunette board the third plane of the day headed towards Las Vegas.

He tossed the bottle into the trash and headed back down the terminal. His smile was intoxicating as he approached the young blonde behind the American Airlines ticket counter.

She smiled back. "Can I help you, sir?"

A flirtatious smile crossed his features. "Maybe you can."

The End

Yeah, now that's a cliffhanger.

Okay, get ready 'cause here it comes. T&T: Youth and Reckoning will debut on October 9. Why you ask? It's my birthday and I want lots of reviews for my birthday. It's only a week away so stop whining, I can hear you from here.

Thanks for reading this.

TDCSI