A/N: I spent the weekend largely ignoring a midterm paper to work on the ending to this story. I do this a lot. I'm either a really bad student or a really dedicated writer ... most likely both. Anyways, it looks like there'll be eleven chapters with an epilogue... so twelve total.

Thanks for all your reviews, they make my day! (Seriously, they do.)


"He's making this way too personal."

Nick and Greg were seated in the two armchairs flanking the couch, upon which sat Sara and Grissom. Aiden was on Sara's lap, happily gumming on a plastic ring.

"Do you want protection?" Nick asked. "We can talk to Brass…"

"He already offered," Grissom said gratefully. "But we think as long as Sara physically stays away from the lab, there's no reason for him to attack us further."

"Do you have any idea who it could be?" Greg asked, his face as full of concern as it was when he arrived.

"No," Grissom answered honestly. Sara paused.

"Sara?"

"I have no proof," she disclaimed. "I just have a… hunch."

"For this case, we'll go on anything," Nick encouraged. "What are you thinking?"

"You never got any hits on the partial from the bathroom stall, right?"

"Right," Greg confirmed.

"I know it was a little smudged to get a hit in IAFIS," Sara said. "But have Mandy clean it up a little and compare it specifically to Ethan Range's prints."

"Ethan Range?" Greg repeated, the name sounding familiar. "The new guy on Swing?"

"Why him, Sara?" Nick asked.

"Did he do anything to you?" Grissom asked, more agitated.

"Not directly," Sara assured him. "But he acts so… strange. These cases are all Grave's, and yet, he shows up at every scene saying Ecklie sent him. I talked to Ecklie last week, and he said no such thing."

She paused, trying to remember if she'd ever seen Ethan smoke, remembering the lingering scent at the scene of her attack. For the life of her, she couldn't remember.

"Why don't I know this guy?" Nick asked while she thought.

"Tall, skinny," Greg described. "Kind of shifty looking?"

"What else, Sara?" Grissom pressed.

"Well, he was always way too interested when we found evidence," she continued. "And I ran into him once, at the grocery store and he said something weird to me."

"He lives near here?" Grissom exclaimed, clearly alarmed.

Aiden peered up at his father, surprised by the sudden loud noise. Grissom smiled and stroked his son's cheek to reassure him and Aiden went back to gnawing on his toy.

"What did he say, Sara?" Nick asked gently.

"He told me to be careful out there," Sara answered. "And that he'd hate to see something happen to a cute kid like Aiden."

The three men sitting near her seemed to have lost all ability to speak.

"That's not all," Sara continued, reluctant to reveal the next part. "He was the one who found me in the park the other day."

"Oh my God," Grissom said. "I never did ask you how you got home… oh, honey…"

"He sounds suspicious enough for me," Nick concluded.

"Well, Range or not, whoever did this to you is definitely our guy," Greg said.

"Will you run the prints for me?" Sara asked. "Don't tell anyone – we have no proof that it's Ethan."

"We'll be careful," Greg said. "And we'll keep you updated."

"How are you feeling, anyways?" Nick put in.

It was three days after Sara's attack and she hadn't set foot in the lab since it happened. Nick, Greg, Catherine and Brass came by on a rotating schedule to keep them both informed on the progress of the case. Grissom was right in his guess that Catherine had gotten little to no trace off of Sara that night. And they had gotten no further with the evidence from the other cases to link someone, anyone, to the murders.

"Better," she said. "The bruises are less sensitive. It's really just my wrist now."

As if he understood, Aiden reached over to play with the Velcro straps of Sara's wrist brace.

"Careful, buddy," Grissom warned, gently pushing his son's tiny hand away.

"He's okay," Sara reassured with a grateful smile. She addressed the two CSIs again. "Have you gotten any further on the daughter from the Taylor case?"

"She seems to have up and disappeared," Nick said. "We can't find a trace of her, body or otherwise."

"It's as frustrating as everything else in this case," Greg muttered.

Grissom could tell this serial was taking a toll on his former team. The extra layer of stress Sara's attack had added left both young men with constant expressions of worry on their usually cheerful faces. Catherine seemed so grim yesterday, she was almost beyond the point of recognition.

"Do you think he's doing it for a reason?" Grissom asked. "Prove a point? Or is it just… random? Because he wants to?"

"Honestly," Nick began. "We have no idea. I haven't seen a killer this meticulous in years. I feel like I haven't slept more than two hours in weeks."

"Speaking of," Greg said, turning to Sara. "Are you sleeping okay? I know I sure didn't when I turned into a human punching bag."

"I'm sleeping okay."

Sara shrugged and Greg glanced at Grissom as if looking for confirmation. Grissom gave him a small smile and lifted his head a bit, validating Sara's statement, even though he knew better. Sara had never been a restful sleeper, but she had been tossing and turning more than usual since the start of this serial, and even more so since her attack in the park. She woke up in a cold sweat yesterday, but Grissom wasn't about to tell that to Greg.

"Man, this case has got me thinking if this job's even worth it," Nick said, shaking his head at the floor. "I mean, we've got all our noses to the grindstone trying to find this guy, but he just keeps on killing. What's the point?"

"I know the feeling," Sara said, offering him a comforting smile.

"You guys will get him," Grissom assured. "I have full confidence in you."

His words didn't seem to brighten their spirits. In fact, the only joyful one in the room seemed to be the baby on Sara's lap. The plastic ring he was gumming on fell to the floor and he squealed his dislike. Nick smiled and picked it up from the floor, handing it back to the baby.

"Sometimes I still can't believe you have a baby, Sara," he said.

"Really?" Sara laughed. "How come?"

"I don't know," Nick replied. "I feel like it happened so fast and then, boom, there was Aiden. I have to keep reminding myself that he's yours and not just some stray that you're babysitting."

"You're not a stray, are you?" Sara cooed into Aiden's ear.

"Don't feel bad," Greg said to Nick. "After they got married, I didn't truly believe it for months afterward."

"Yeah," Sara put in. "He kept saying I got my ring from a vending machine."

Grissom put his hand over his heart, acting insulted.

"I'm offended!"

"Just teasing, Griss, just teasing," Greg laughed. "It's a beautiful ring."

He winked at Sara as she lifted Aiden into the air. Aiden immediately abandoned his plastic ring in order to giggle at the funny faces his mother was pulling at him. Greg, Nick and Grissom couldn't help but smile as they watched her settle him back against her chest.

"Well, I know at least one thing for sure," Greg grinned. "I have the cutest godson in town."

"He's gonna be a freakin' heartbreaker," Nick agreed.

Simultaneously, both Nick and Greg's pagers beeped. Their smiles transformed into looks of shock, which immediately got both Sara and Grissom's attention.

"What is it?"

"We have a new witness," Nick said in disbelief.

"Who?" Sara asked anxiously.

"Ashley Taylor's three-year-old daughter, Olivia," Greg answered.

Sara gaped at him.

"They found her? Alive?"

"And apparently unharmed," Greg said. "She's at P.D. now."

"We'll fill you in," Nick promised as he grasped Sara's hands.

In seconds, both men were out the door and headed towards their cars. Sara turned to her husband, holding Aiden with her good arm.

"How in the world did that little girl make it out alive?"

"I don't know," Grissom said, obviously equally dumbfounded. "But she's a little miracle, and she may just be the key we needed."


TBC!