A/N: Okay, okay, enough with the cheering, yes, yes... I'm back... Sorry for the wait... School got in the way... and then, well... I got writers block... The amount of times I opened a word document, started writing, then just sat and stared at my computer screen... Hmm... Well... On with the story!

Hidden Emotions

Chapter fourteen

A few weeks later Sara and Grissom had forgotten about their ordeal, well, not exactly forgotten, but they had gotten over it, Grissom had given up on trying to find out what it was that had made her this way, and Sara had learned to deal with cases... Almost. She was just starting to get used to not letting emotions get in the way at work, then Grissom let his take over.

It was a case about a baby being murdered, Grissom had found the baby and let his emotions get in the way. He had just ordered Greg to work on his samples, not anyone elses, he was clearly effected by this case. He stormed out of the DNA lab and started walking down the hall.

Sara caught up with him, concerned.

"Grissom?"

He spun around angrily. "What?"

She suddenly understood how he felt, she hated it when people questioned her about being emotionally drawn to a case, so she decided better of shouting at him, instead she walked right up to him, inches away. "You told me a few weeks ago that nothing is personal, no victim should be special" She spoke in a soft, caring voice that touched his heart. He thought back, he remembered.

They had been sitting in his office, Sara was crying. They had just finished a case about a woman attacked and left to die, she ended up in hospital not expected to live. Sara had visited her regularly and the case effected her deeply. He had let her into his office so she could let it out, he had listened while she spoke.

"The husband doesn't get it" Sara shook her head, wiping a tear from her eye.

"He's so happy she's going to live. He doesn't realise she's going to be in a vegetative state for the rest of her life" Sara's voice broke as she started crying again. "And that kid, Thorpe... Is going to be out of juvie in 48 months, it's not fair" She whispered the end of her speech, unable to talk. She wiped her eyes as Grissom took a deep breath. He hated seeing her like this and sometimes wondered if she was able to do the job.

Grissom hated to not be able to hug her and tell her it would be ok, he had to be professional, eventhough he knew it hurt her. "It's the system" He said, simply.

Sara looked at him. "What kind of system rewards the suspect when the victim is too tough to die?" She said coldly.

She knew he wouldn't be able to answer that. Sara got up and headed for the door, but Grissom spoke, stopping her.

"Sara... you got to learn to let this go or you're going to spend all your time in hospitals trying to help the people you couldn't save"

"I wish I was like you, Grissom, I wish I didn't feel anything" She spoke slowly and sadly, another tear falling from her eye. She walked out of his office, closing the door behind her. So that was it... She thought he didn't feel anything, when he felt everything possible for her, love, anger, sadness, jealousy.

He sighed. "Oh"

"Everyone follows your lead" Sara spoke again, bringing him back to the present.

His anger boiled inside of him again, he didn't know why. "Everyone didn't find that baby, I did. And that little boy is dead because someone lost their temper or screwed up, or god knows what, so, excuse me, but this victim is special" He spat his last words, shocking Sara.

Another few weeks later and Sara and Grissom were working on a case about a serial killer, nicknamed the 'Strip Strangler' he stripped his victims and strangled them. All victims had dark hair, were quite tall and around mid thirties, Sara was just what he would be looking for and had volunteered herself to be 'bait.'

Grissom and agent Rick Culpepper were having a meeting about her offer.

"Okay. We have an operation in place. Your CSI, Sidle, has expressed an interest to my agents in availing herself. I wanted to let you know before we made the official offer" Culpepper explained.

"Really, what kind of operation?"

"All this talk about your great capacity for observation. Sara Sidle matches the victim prototype to a "T." She's a young woman, brunette, tall for a female."

Sara walked into the room and stood at the doorway, Grissom sensed her presence and turned around, their eyes met and Grissom quickly turned back to Culpepper. He realised what they wanted, and what could happen.

"You're not serious?" He said quickly. Worry and anger in his voice.

"And by all reports, she's steady. Has the right personality for a decoy operation." Culpepper continued, almost ignoring his comment.

"You're going to bait this guy with a human being? This is your big FBI plan" Grissom's voice was filling with anger everytime he spoke.

"Before he kills again, yes. Got a better idea?" Culpepper said, impatiently.

"Understanding him first, completely, so that we can get out ahead of him." He said it as if it was obvious, he couln't risk Sara's life, not now, that he had her with him and was starting to understand her.

Sara, herself, was getting impatient, she didn't know what Grissom was feeling and wanted to do it, wanted to get him off the streets.

"And if he kills again while we're trying to understand him?"

"Well I'm sorry, but he's not going to kill my CSI" "I'm not going to let him take Sara away from me."

Sara interrupted him. "I'm going to do it, Grissom"

At the sound of her voice, Grissom turned around, surprised.

"I want to" She added.

"You want to put yourself in the path of a psychotic killer?" He asked, almost pleading her not to do it.

"I'm trained in weaponless defence"

That surprised Grissom. But he didn't let it show. "Too bad, because that's what turns him on -- women fighting back. Gives him a greater sense of power when he makes his final kill."

"Grissom ... "

"Sit down, Sara"

Culpepper seemed interested in the way Sara and Grissom acted around each other, Grissom seemed almost... Protective of her. "Okay. If we're to follow your line of thinking, are you out ahead of him?"

"Not yet. He knows just enough about forensics to be dangerous. He thinks he's throwing us off track by planting confederate hairs. He probably shaves his head maybe his entire body as DNA protection. He may gag his victims using a garden-variety bath towel which he then takes with him as part of his murder kit. He will go after another tall brunette and the torture will be worse. But this time, he won't ejaculate. At least not at the scene." Grissom was deep in thought as he said this, thinking through everything he had seen at the scene.

"At home, later. He's learning control" Culpepper added.

"Think he knows his next victim?" Sara asked, almost fearing what she was going to do.

Grissom answered her without looking at her, he couldn't bear it. "Signature killers always know their next victim. But they don't know him"

Suddenly, he turned, looking her directly in the eyes, trying to show her what he felt. Sara stared him back, fear in her eyes. The way he looked at her made her want to close her eyes. But she didn't. "... Until he tortures, rapes and kills them." He continued.

A/N: I'll be continuing it in another chapter... Tell me what you think (: