A/N: I know I sound redundant but I am truly grateful for the wonderful reviews I've gotten. Oh yes and I don't own these characters but I do like them an awful lot. There should only be one or two more chapters left. I don't want to beat a dead horse…

-10-

Doug lifted up Sara and gave her to the rescue workers telling them to watch her head. Once they got her safely off the pile, one of the workers told Doug to give him his hand. Doug refused saying there was another man down and that he had to find him. The worker insisted that they could find whoever wasn't accounted for and that it was in Doug's best interest to get out and have his injuries assessed. When Doug still refused, the rescue worker called down to those on the ground and apprised them of the situation. Nick took it upon himself to climb up and talk to Doug.

"Doug man you need to come out of there and let the professionals sift through this mess."

"I have to find him," Doug replied starting to move the debris around with his hands.

"Seriously Doug, your head is covered in blood and you need attending," Nick said strongly. Doug leaned back on his shoes and looked up.

"You don't understand. I promised her I would find him."

"I know man but let us do it."

"Nick sorry to do this," Doug said sighing. "But in situations like this as a high ranking officer of the NTSB, I'm going to pull rank and tell you to hand over a shovel, a pick, heavy duty flashlight and a pair of gloves stat." Nick saw the look in his eyes and decided it was best not to argue with Doug's determination. He got the materials that were asked for and handed them down to Doug.

"Be careful," Nick said as he handed over the flashlight.

"Probably be a good idea to not rock the boat too much top side. "

"By all accounts Grissom should be somewhere towards your left unless he got tossed," Nick said.

"Yeah I'm going to start in this spot here." Nick asked him why he seemed so sure of that spot. "Because Sara kept caressing this spot with her hand like she knew Grissom was there." Nick nodded and watched for a moment before climbing back down.

Doug started pecking away at the dirt slowly but methodically. He made an opening enough so he could shine his light down. He saw a pocket of opened space and wondered how much farther down Grissom was. He yelled down the hole to see if Grissom could hear him. There was no response.

Doug continued making a hole large enough so that he could climb down onto the next level. It was painstaking work, but Doug was energized by the promise he made Sara. Once he got down a level, Doug repeated the same steps as he had done previously and made a hole big enough to shine a light down. He once again yelled to Grissom.

Grissom had been drifting in and out for a while. He wasn't sure if it was because of some internal injury or due to lack of oxygen. He thought he heard voices again and opened his eyes. He lifted his head up slightly and saw a light coming down near his feet. He then heard his name being called. He tried to speak but his voice was raspy at first. He then cleared his throat and called out to the voice.

"I hear you Grissom. Move away from the light if you can so I don't drop concrete on you." Grissom moved his feet as far away from the light as he could.

"Who are you?" Grissom asked.

"It's Doug Wilson."

"Sara?"

"She's with the medical team now. I think she's okay. Got knocked on the head I think."

"She's got a hard head," Grissom whispered. Doug chuckled.

"Okay I think I maneuver myself down to you now. Let me just WOAH –"

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Nick and Brass rode with Sara to the command post to get her checked out further. The EMTs wanted her to go to the emergency room but she was emphatic about wanting to stay on scene until both Grissom and Doug were safe.

They left the draped area while the nurses and doctor attended to Sara. Brass poured two coffees and handed one to Nick.

"It's mud but it's hot," Brass said. Nick thanked him. "What's troubling you Nicky?"

"I couldn't do it."

"Do what?" Brass asked.

"I couldn't go down the rabbit hole and rescue Grissom for Sara."

"Nick, you've been encased in the rabbit hole. Something like that doesn't go away – ever. You think I don't sometimes flinch when I hear a backfire or a gunshot?"

"Thanks Jim. I just wouldn't want to let her down you know?"

"I do and she does."

The doctor came out a few minutes later and told them that Sara was fine and only had a slight concussion. He attributed her blacking out to the stress of the situation, but said that he would have a nurse check on her periodically just in case. Both men thanked the doctor.

"I'm going to stay with her. Why don't you go back and see what is going on. Report back to me and I will tell Sara what I think she should know," Brass more than suggested. Nick nodded and headed back to the truck.

Brass went and pulled up a stool beside Sara's cot. The doctor had urged her to lie down and she had to admit that it helped the throbbing in her head. Brass took her hand and gave it a slight squeeze. She turned to him and smiled.

"So they tell me you were training for your new career as a Cirque Du Soleil performer."

"I'm in no mood for a lecture Jim."

"You're not? I've been working on a doozy," he said with a glint in his eye. "Seriously Sara, are you okay?"

"My head hurts like hell but everything else is functioning okay so they tell me. I'm worried about Grissom. Who knows what injuries he has or even there is enough oxygen."

"Now the first thing you are going to do is calm down. Secondly Doug is working his way to find Grissom."

"Doug?" Sara asked confused.

"Yeah apparently you made him promise to find Grissom for you and he wouldn't let anyone else down there," Brass replied.

"Oh," Sara said a little ashamed of herself.

"What is it about you Sidle? You have some kind of mojo working for you. Drives men crazy. Makes them do things. Grissom, Doug – even poor Nicky thinks he let you down because he didn't go after Grissom himself." Sara looked sadly at Brass.

"I would never expect Nick to go under a pile of rubble like that, not after what he went through."

"That's what I told him," Bras replied and then heard his phone beep. He hit the button and said his name. Sara watched his face turn serious and she became alarmed.

"What's going on?" she asked as soon as he ended the call.

"Good news is that Doug found Grissom alive and coherent," Brass said and then stopped.

"Bad news Jim," Sara demanded.

"There was another collapse."

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"What the hell was that?" Doug asked sitting partially up and shaking dirt and dust out of his hair. He tried to look around for the flashlight but he couldn't feel it. "Grissom? GRISSOM?"

"Stop yelling. I'm right here."

"Where?" Doug asked feeling around again.

"Judging by how close your voice sound, not too far away. OUCH!"

"Sorry. What did I kick?" Doug asked. If it was under another set of circumstances, he might have found this funny.

"My shoulder. I think I found the flashlight." Grissom felt for the button and turned it on. He shined it around and they both followed the light. "Looks like the ground gave in."

"Lucky it didn't swallow us up. Appears the concrete acted as sort of a shield. Amazing," Doug said.

"A miracle," Grissom replied. He was able to sit up and slink over to the wall of dirt perpendicular to Doug. "You okay? You're bleeding." Doug felt his head and then looked down at his fingers.

"From the first fall," he lied. "You alright?"

"Sore," Grissom stated. He put the flashlight down but let the light illuminate the ceiling. He leaned his head back and sighed.

"Sara was really scared for you," Doug said after a while.

"Oh yeah?" was Grissom's only reply. Doug looked over at him shocked.

"Why do you seem to hate her so much?"

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"Sara I think it's best if you just stayed here. Nick will call us with any news," Brass said watching Sara put on her jacket and boots.

"Surely you don't expect me to sit here while my husband is out there."

"No I guess I don't. I'll drive," Brass said relenting. They got into the truck and headed over to the scene. They were stopped a good distance away and met by DB.

"Sara, now before you go running off to dig through the dirt yourself, let me explain some things to you," DB said as Sara got out of the truck. She looked around and wondered why everyone seemed to be standing still. DB told her that the ground appeared to have given way underneath the monorail car. Because of the likelihood of it being a sinkhole, assessments had to be made for the safety of all involved.

"We believe that Doug and Grissom are underground now. We need to carefully remove all the debris above ground first. We can't get too close until we are sure that the ground will not further sink. This is for the safety of all – above and below ground. Do you understand Sara?"

"Yes, sorry I understand," she replied sadly. She walked over to where the yellow tape had been draped and stood there. Brass came up behind her and put his arms around her.

"Believe in miracles Sara," he said holding her tight.

"I'm trying Jim. But the older I get, the more I've seen, the less I believe in them," she said sadly.

"I know. Hey did I ever tell you the time I caught Grissom at Victoria Secrets?"

"No, when was that?" she asked then said, "it better have been for me." Brass laughed.

"Oh it was for you. That was when I first had my suspicions about you two." Sara turned her head to eye Brass. He continued on with his story.

"It was just Christmas Eve and I had been wandering the mall looking for some last minute gifts. I saw someone who looked suspiciously like Grissom in that particular store looking at some red lace teddies if I remember correctly." Sara's eyes lit up in remembrance of a particularly beautiful teddy Grissom had gotten her for their second Christmas together as a couple.

"Stop remembering the night he gave it to you and focus on my story," Brass said kiddingly. Sara blushed. "I stood outside the store window and watched this brilliant scientist examine this lace teddy and the rest of its ensemble with the same look as one examining an important piece of evidence. It was starting to spook the saleswoman a bit too. She was a pretty blonde girl. Long legs and a pair -"

"Jim focus," Sara said. Brass cleared his throat and continued.

"I walked over to her and explained that he was a crime scene investigator conducting an experiment on the durability of lace when used in strangulation."

"She bought that?"

"Of course," Brass said as if there would be any doubt. "I called out Grissom's name and he dropped the garter he was holding and tried to turn around nonchalantly. Unfortunately, the sleeve of his jacket caught on the straps of the belt and flung it into one of those half mannequins that sat on top of the display case."

"Oh he must have been mortified," Sara said half laughing and half feeling embarrassed for Grissom.

"Yeah he got one of his classic dopey looks on his face. I, of course, had to throw a bunch of questions at him."

"Of course," Sara said knowing the man still with his arms around her.

"He wouldn't tell me who the purchase was for but I knew. I think inherently we all did. I never understood why you both hid it," Brass reflected.

"Departmental policy Jim."

"A man of Grissom's status could have easily circumvented such an asinine policy." Sara put her head down. She had wondered herself why he seemed to want to keep their relationship under wraps. Sure she was a private person, but she never felt the need to hide things as he did. She turned and looked at Brass.

"Do you think he was embarrassed by me?" she asked sincerely. Brass shook his head.

"Don't be ridiculous. It's Grissom we're talking about here. He gets these weird ideas in his head. Probably didn't want to seem partial to you. Didn't want the razzing he'd get from the guys. Grissom just wasn't made for certain types of social norms if you will." Sara smiled and then turned back to look at the cranes making their way carefully throw the debris and dirt.

"I can't lose him Jim. Not like this." Brass put his arms back around her. He understood.

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Grissom repositioned himself. He was sore, tired and one of the last people he wanted to be stuck with in that hellhole, just asked him a question that he really wanted to bean him off his head with one of the nearby rocks for.

"That is the most absurd question I have ever been asked. Did she tell you that I hate her?" he finally asked.

"Sara would never say something bad about you. Just not her style."

"You seem to know her pretty well," Grissom said snidely.

"Green eyed monster at two o'clock," Doug replied. Grissom shot him a dirty look.

"Do we have to talk?"

"The way I see it we may not get out of here. Confession is good for the soul," Doug replied leaning his head back. "Time for redemption Grissom."

"Okay have it your way," Grissom breathed out. "Why do you care so much for my wife?"

TBC