It came as no surprise to either Grissom or Sara that the psychologists ordered therapy before allowing her to return to work. Her bruises were healing nicely, albeit a little slow at first. They found another apartment and the manager of the complex agreed to let Grissom use his name on the lease instead of Sara's. Grissom also set up her utilities and they went to the post office and set up a P.O. Box there. He slept on her couch for the duration of his visit. As he told Bob, Sara also got a new cell phone number and any information about her was unlisted, just like him.

Two weeks later, Grissom returned home to chaos. Catherine and Lindsey were running around, playing a game of 'catch me'. He said hello and went right to bed for a nap before work. It proved useless due to the noise of the girls. He called Sara to let her know he was home.

"Sidle."

"Hi. I'm back home."

"I'm glad. Going to get some rest before work?"

"I wish. Catherine and Lindsey are running around for a game."

"Gee, too bad. It's nice and quiet over here."

"Yeah, that's not funny." He told her sarcastically.

"I know. I'm sorry for teasing you."

"This is going to be hard living with them."

"I agree. Good luck."

"Yeah, thanks. I should go. I need to pay some bills and rest for a bit. It sounds like they are slowing down."

"I won't keep you then. Thank you again for helping me. I owe you."

"Are we keeping score now?" He asked with a smile.

"Get some rest. I'll talk to you when you call me next."

"Ok. Goodnight Sara."

"Night Grissom." Both parties hung up. Grissom paid his bills and set the envelopes in his briefcase to mail out. He checked a few places in his room to see if Catherine might have picked his bedroom lock and snooped. He wouldn't have put it past her do snoop when she was bored and Lindsey was asleep. After a satisfactory inspection, he left his room to get something to eat.

"Hello ladies." He greeted them with a smile.

"Hi, Gil. Where have you been for the last two weeks?"

"A friend needed some help." He tried to answer and deflect at the same time.

"How's Sara?"

"Why do you ask?" He asked while scrambling some eggs.

"I remember that phone call right before you left. You asked if she was ok, then you took off. Were you with her?"

"What difference does it make if I was?"

"Is she your girlfriend?" Catherine asked.

"No. She's a friend; just like you."

"Why are you so defensive about her? It's like you're keeping her a secret from the rest of us." Catherine told him.

"There's no need for me to tell you about her since you don't know her. I keep my private life private. You know that."

"Is that why you locked your bedroom door?" Grissom smiled.

"You tried to go in, did you?" Catherine flushed with embarrassment.

"No, of course not. Lindsey did and I was pulling her away from the door when I discovered you had locked it." Gil decided not to push any further and also to lock his door at all times. He ate and shared his eggs with Lindsey and was suckered into a movie with her, to which she fell asleep halfway through. He carried her to bed for Catherine and went to sleep himself.

GSRGSRGSRGSRGSR

That night, Jim Brass called Gil into his office.

"So what happened?"

"It's the same girl as before. That asshole found her and beat the hell out of her. I'm the only one she trusts implicitly. I'm her safety net. We had to find a new apartment that I put in my name, a post office box, a new cell phone, a new pager, and a new house phone number; all of which are in my name. We did everything short of changing her name so he can't find her again. She doesn't deserve to live in fear." Gil was still angry about it even two weeks later. Brass picked up on it.

"Do you have feelings for her?"

"She's my friend. She's fifteen years younger than me." Gil deflected.

"Do you have feelings for her?" Brass repeated the question.

"I feel the need to keep her safe." Gil answered after a minute.

"What's she look like? What's her name?"

"Her name is Sara. She's tall, brunette, brown eyes, and a gap in her front teeth. It works for her. She's skinny, but one hell of a CSI. I've been tracking her career. She's already a level two and halfway to three."

"She's the same age as those two clowns out there and she's almost a three?" Brass asked in disbelief. Gil nodded.

"If she applies here, hire her." A recommendation from Gil went along way in the field of forensics. Brass had forgotten the opinionated description Gil had offered about Sara's appearance.

"We'll see. It's time to work." Both men rose at the same time.

"Brass, promise me, you won't say anything." Brass nodded and they left the room.

GSRGSRGSRGSRGSR

Later in the shift, Brass caught Grissom watching the news.

"Damn it Bob!" He suddenly exclaimed and pulled out his cell phone.

"What's going on?" Brass asked.

"That's her." Grissom pointed to the screen and called her at the same time. Brass saw the woman on the phone answer her phone.

"Sidle."

"Move away from the cameras." Grissom had skipped over a greeting.

"I didn't know they had arrived. I'll try to keep out of viewing range."

"Good. Go back to work and I'll call you later." Grissom hung up at the same time as the woman on the screen. Brass saw her disappear inside the house.

"She's pretty." Brass observed and watched his friend.

"Yeah." Grissom agreed absent-mindedly. The conversation was over just as soon as it had begun. Brass fully suspected that his Gil cared much more for this woman than he was willing to admit.

GSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSR***SMALL TIME LEAP****

A few months later, it was Grissom's turn to be needy.

"Sidle."

"Hi." His voice was a dead give away.

"What's wrong?"

"Something's happened. Can you come out and do an internal investigation? I'll explain everything later." He told her quietly.

"I'm on the next plane. I'll call you later." She said confidently.

"Thanks. I'll see you later."

"Bye." She said and they both hung up. Grissom breathed a huge sigh of relief. She was amazing that he would drop everything, no questions asked, just to come help him. He gathered some papers in his hand and went to face is team. He was now in charge.

GSRGSRGSRGSR

After the suspect was apprehended, Grissom took Sara to her hotel. He had wanted to get them out of there before Catherine had a chance to sink her teeth into either of them. He knew that she recognized the name as soon as he said it. They sat in the lobby restaurant over waffles.

"So, how do you like Vegas?" He asked her.

"It's so damn hot! Other than that, I haven't seen much of it. Your team seems nice. Warrick and Catherine don't seem to like me much though."

"Good call. Catherine is used to being the only woman around. Pick your battles with her. Warrick's a good guy. How would you behave toward the person doing an investigation on you; especially if said person is a close friend of the boss?" He explained.

"You've got a point on that. Is Catherine the same woman from years ago; the one having issues with her husband?"

"Yes."

"Then good for her to persevere and survive." Sara commended the other woman.

"She had help you know." Grissom gave himself an ego boost.

"Naturally, I'm sure she appreciates your help just as much as I do."

"Thank you. She's a little ticked at me right now too. She calls me her best friend and now she has to adjust to me being her boss. She's angry that I never told her about you. I only said that you were a friend and your first name. She thinks she has a right to know every facet about my life." Grissom explained with a smirk.

"Ouch. Good luck on that front. Did anyone know about me?" She asked.

"Only Jim Brass. He was my boss right up until I called you. You remember him?"

"Yes. He's a nice guy."

"I think so. I have a question for you." He started.

"Go for it." Sara gave him her full attention.

"Would you like to work on my team with me here in Vegas? I have an opening."

"Yes, but I'm warning you; I don't always respond well to authority."

"I can handle it. I'm not used to being in charge of everything yet anyway." He shrugged it off.

"I can handle that. Drive me to the airport so I can take care of things on that end." Grissom nodded and paid the bill. Sara went upstairs to get her things and checked out. At the airport, Grissom pulled her to the side.

"When you get back, plan to stay at my place until we find you one of your own."

"Thanks." She said with a smile that caused his heart to flutter. He started to wonder if it was a wise decision to bring her here. She was creating feelings in him that he was uncomfortable with.

GSRGSRGSRGSGRSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSGRSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSRGSR

A/N: All of you asked me to continue, so I am. Keep on reveiwing, please. I love reading them. I have also already started the next fic. It will be a little more humorous, romantic, and my speciality, lots and lots of twists! Have a great day!