A/N: Thanks to those who reviewed and thanks to Emmithar for the beta! :D

Chapter 21: Still

Sara had been sitting and pondering for a few minutes, when she could hear steps coming into the room and she knew it was Grissom even before he had said anything.

"Sara?"

She looked around and saw Brass standing in the door next to Grissom.

"You want to stay here or go somewhere else?" he asked.

"I'm going to get some coffee," Grissom announced, moving out of the office again, leaving the detective alone with Sara.

"What did Charlie Brody say?" Brass started, and Sara was glad he didn't begin with any accusations, as she had not told him the truth before.

"He said he'd been talking to Greg. That I wasn't doing Greg any good by not cooperating with him. That it wouldn't end well for Greg." She said everything quickly, wanting to have it over with.

"And you didn't think it was worth mentioning this before?"

Sara felt the sting as the questioning started after all. "I didn't think he was telling the truth. He was talking about a lot of nonsense. I really felt he was making things up."

"Do you have any idea what happened? Is there anything else you remember? Anything Brody said, or Greg?"

She shook her head. "Greg worked last night. I saw him briefly, before he went home. I've been trying to call him, but he won't pick up. Well, once the call was picked up, but I don't know by whom; nobody said anything."

"And Greg was supposed to work tonight?"

This time she nodded. "Yeah, he's scheduled, and he told me he would come in."

"Grissom told me Nick and you were at Greg's place?"

"We were there, but he wasn't there as far as we could tell. We didn't go in, of course."

Brass nodded. "Any idea where Greg left his car?"

"He usually parks it near his place, at the parking lot." She knew they could check if it was there and start a search for it, in case it wasn't and Greg was officially missing.

The detective looked at her sternly. "You know I care about Greg."

Sara frowned, wondering why he was telling her that.

"I'm just saying so you don't have any misgivings about it," he answered her unasked question.

"Why-?"

Brass glanced into the hallway and seeing that nobody was there, he turned back to her. "When I asked Greg about Brody recently, you gave me the impression that I was somehow going against Greg."

His meaning dawned on Sara. "You think I didn't tell you what Charlie said because of that?"

Brass lifted his eyebrows. "Didn't say that. Just wanting to make sure we know everything there is to know."

At this moment Grissom returned, carrying two cups of coffee. Nick was coming right behind him, and the two men distracted Brass' attention while Sara was still brooding over what he had said. She knew in her heart that this had not been the reason why she had not told Brass. Yes, she had been angry before, because she had felt that Brass had been implying that Greg knew anything about Charlie's flight. But at the end of the day she knew the detective to be competent, and if she had believed Greg to be in danger, she would have told Brass about it.

She looked at Nick, remembering that he had carried about hard feelings against Greg as well, until he had come to his senses...

Sara's thoughts broke off there, everything that had happened coming back to her mind clearly, a sudden feeling of certainty following... she knew where Greg was.

"I think I know where Greg is," she said, jumping up, and the three men looked at her in surprise. "At the cabin, I think Charlie has taken him to the cabin. The guy isn't very bright. He'll just pull the same thing again."

Still everybody was looking at her, until Brass said. "Can't hurt checking it out."

"I'll go," Sara said quickly.

"You go with me, if at all," Brass decided.

"I'll come, too," Nick intervened.

Grissom decided to stay and call them if any information reached the lab that they needed to know, and Brass, Nick and Sara made their way out, Nick and Sara using one car.

Sara had not felt so energetic the whole day like she did now. She was anxious, sure that she was right, sure that they would find Greg there. She was afraid as well, yes, but she pushed that feeling away, hoping that they were quick enough. Brass had called in reinforcements that were driving ahead to the cabin to deal with Charlie if he was there. Sara knew that she and Nick were not far behind.

They had left the city, driving up a dark road through the woods now, and Sara pulled out her phone, trying Greg's number again just for the sake of it. She could not wait to hear his voice, could not wait to see him, hoping that he was alright. Her call went directly to voice mail once again, but Sara did not bother leaving another message.

She knew that they were not far from the cabin now and looked ahead on the street, waiting to see the turn that would lead to it. They took another bend and Sara could see light over the edge of the trees in the distance.

Light blazing, fire blazing... something was in flames...

Nick glanced at her, Sara paling as the realization hit her. The cabin was on fire. If Greg was still in there...

"We don't know if Greg was even there," Nick said firmly, interrupting the silence, obviously trying to make her believe what he did not even dare to do. This could not be a coincidence. That the cabin was burning down showed clearly that Sara's guess had been right. Charlie had been here. And so had Greg...

Nick called the fire in and they took the last curves till their destination. They drove up some distance away from the cabin, two police cars parked somewhat closer. Sara wasn't sure if she wanted to go there quickly or not at all, until the car came to a stop and she simply jumped out, running ahead of the others towards the cabin.

It was fully engulfed in flames. She knew there was nothing they could do.

Sara looked around and saw Nick talking to the police officers who had arrived at the scene minutes before the two CSI's. They were shaking their heads and Sara knew that the fire had not been considerably smaller when they had arrived.

Nick came over to her, while she was staring into the flames. He put his arm around her shoulder.

"I'm sorry," he said quietly.

"Maybe he wasn't here after all." Her voice sounded distant to her.

"I'm afraid he was." Nick said it simply, but there was no doubt in his voice and she turned to face him, tears in her eyes now. He held up the wallet, opening it slightly so that she could see Greg's driver's license inside, showing a beaming picture of a younger Greg.

"Jeff found it," Nick motioned to the young police officer.

Sara nodded, turning away from him and from the flames. She saw that Brass had arrived as well now. Unwilling to face him she turned back to the building, Nick still at her side.

"Fire department is going to be here soon."

She nodded only warily to his statement. It was the second time she was waiting for them to come in the course of twenty-four hours. This time there was actually a fire. But this time they would be too late. Sara knew that there was no chance for survival for anyone still inside the cabin. Even if the flames had not killed yet, the smoke surely had.

She didn't hear Nick's next statement, but shook only her head, walking away from him, intend on making her way around the cabin. She did not know why. The other sides of the building would not look any better. It would not make any difference. Maybe she just wanted to be alone.

She stepped over bushes that surrounded the building, staying clear out of reach of the flames though. She came to the right side of the cabin, the flames working nearly as strongly there as at the front.

She tried to imagine what had happened. Charlie had taken Greg captive, had brought him here, and then? She did not know if Charlie was still inside the building as well, or if he had left after the fire had started, probably induced by him. If he had kept Greg captive, Greg had probably been tied up, hadn't been able to move around, hadn't had any chance to escape the flames if Charlie had left him behind... Sara's throat felt as if she was choking...

She looked closer and saw a broken window at the side of the building. She wasn't able to see into the cabin though. Without really knowing what she was doing she stepped nearer. The window was clear of flames as of yet.

She knew there was no chance. That Greg was in there was the bitter reality she had to accept. He was in there and she was outside here, and there wasn't anything she could do for him anymore. Still she stared at the window, her mind racing, while her body felt numb, almost absent.

TBC