Cussing under his breath when he saw her eyelids flutter shut Nick put an ear to her mouth, giving a relieved sigh when he felt breath. Her pulse was strong, if a little uneven. Sitting next to her on the grass he pulled out his handkerchief and placed it awkwardly across her neck, trying to stop the cuts from bleeding. He took her hand in one of his, pressing his fingers to her wrist to monitor her pulse, and picked up the radio again, demanding to know where his back up was.

"Eta is two minutes," crackled the staticky voice, "hang in there." Dropping the radio he wrapped her hand in both of his, imagining how Grissom was going to kill him. Shaking his head he checked her breathing again and then began to tell her the latest of his family tales from Texas. He was halfway through the story of his nephews' first day of second grade when three things happened all at once. Brass screamed to a halt behind the squad car, the wail of the ambulance could be heard approaching the neighbourhood and Sara came to with a choking gasp.

"Sara, can you hear me?" asked Nick, panicked. Sara coughed and rolled onto her side where she lay still, breathing deeply. Seconds later Brass was on his knees next to the fallen CSI.

"What happened," he growled, brushing Sara's hair out of her face for her.

"Suspect returned to the scene, held her at knife point. He cut her neck up pretty bad, but he didn't hit anything major."

"Sara, are you ok?" demanded Brass, worried by her lack of movement and conversation.

"Fine! Never better!" croaked Sara with grim good humour.

"Where's the officer assigned to the scene?" asked Brass, his voice tense.

"Gone," whispered Sara, closing her eyes. A clatter of gear announced the arrival of the paramedics.

"All right," smiled a young woman, crouching next to Sara, "what happened here?" Nick launched into an explanation while the two paramedics gently secured Sara to a back board. Lucy, the female gently bandaged Sara's left forearm which was still bleeding sluggishly. Nick cursed himself internally when he realized he had not noticed the large gash. Brass straightened and motioned Nick to follow him a few paces away, out of earshot.

"What happened? The whole story?" asked the detective. Nick relayed everything that had happened. "Shit," muttered Brass, "Grissom's going to have a heart attack. Where the hell is my officer?"

"No idea," growled Nick, "but when he comes back I'm going to murder him."

"Get in line," sighed Brass, wearily. The paramedics were loading Sara into the ambulance. Nick hurried over.

"Sara, you want me to come with you?" he asked.

"No," came the soft reply. She couldn't see him from her prone position. "I'm going to call Grissom; I don't want everyone else to know about us yet. You'd better get someone here to process the secondary crime scene. Call Greg, I bet he'll want to help. I'll call you later, ok?"

"Yeah," replied Nick, "feel better ok!"

"You got it boss," she joked. Nick smiled as he walked back to Brass; if she could joke then it wasn't too bad. Meeting up with the detective Nick saw Officer Holmes walking down the street towards them with a paper bag in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other. When he saw the departing ambulance he broke into a run as panic swamped his features. Brass radiated unadulterated fury as the officer approached, biting his lip. When the detective let loose Nick stepped away from his wrath and opened his cell, speed-dialling Greg, requesting he come to the scene. He didn't tell Greg what had gone down, in case it leaked to the others before Grissom found out. That done he turned and went back over to the two cops; it was time to give Holmes a piece of his mind.

...

Grissom blew in to the emergency room at Desert Palms and strode up to the nurses' station. He was directed to the appropriate treatment bay where he found his wife having her left arm stitched. She smiled at him and reached for his hand, pulling him closer. There was blistering fury in Grissom's face.

"Brass is murdering Officer Holmes as we speak," she murmured, soothing him. "It's not too bad; I'll be fine, honestly." Grissom sighed and perched on the bed next to her, placing a kiss on her forehead before sweeping his eyes over her body, checking for injuries. "I'm ok," she reassured him, "you should see the other guy. I'm fairly sure I broke his foot and he's not going to be having children any time soon." The nurse snorted her amusement as she tied off the last stitch and began to dress the wound. Grissom ran his fingers through Sara's hair, gently grooming tangles out of it. When the nurse left to fetch more dressing Sara eyed the evidence bags and Forensics jumpsuit he had brought with him. With a sigh she stripped off her outer clothes and handed them over, pulling on the blue fabric in their place. Then she slid over on the bed so he could sit next to her and wrap his arms around her. He pressed his face into her hair and rested a hand over her belly, feeling the slight bump her clothes concealed.

"Are you really ok?" he asked, worried.

"Yeah. Physically anyway. I'm definitely shaken though." Grissom sighed and held her closer, kissing her temple. The nurse came back then, effectively ending their conversation. She dressed Sara's neck wounds and finished with her arm before showing her how to care for the affected areas. When she left again to fetch the discharge papers Sara turned to look up at Grissom.

"Gil, I don't think I can do this anymore. I know we talked about it before and I wasn't sure, but tonight changed everything. What if something worse had happened, what if something had happened to the baby? I couldn't deal with that."

"I was actually thinking the same thing," he confessed, "I can't stand to see you in danger anymore, especially not when I think of the girls and this little one," he finished, caressing her stomach. "I know Brass is going to absolutely shred that officer but I would rest easier if I knew you were out of harm's way."

Sara reached up to stroke his cheek, smiling.

"Do you know how much I love you?" she asked, gazing lovingly at him.

"I think I might," he answered with his own smile, "but it can't be nearly as much as I love you." He kissed her gently then pulled back, serious again. "So are you going to take the University up on their offer?"

"Yes. And I'm handing in my things as soon as we're done here."

"OK, but I'm driving you home. Sophie can come back to the lab with me to pick up your car."

"Fine," sighed Sara. "I just want to shower and go to bed."

"Not a problem," promised Grissom, kissing her again.

...

Brass waited for another officer to arrive and take over the scene before hauling Holmes back to PD. As soon as his office door shut behind the other man Brass spun around to face him.

"Where were you?" he demanded, his voice icy.

"I went to get some coffee sir; it's a cold night."

"And you just ignored protocol because?"

"I wasn't thinking sir. I made a mistake. I'm sorry."

"Damn right you are," snapped Brass. "We lost a CSI eight years ago because the officer left the scene, and we nearly lost another a couple of years after that because the officer couldn't keep his dinner down."

"I'm sorry sir," repeated Holmes, his voice trembling with nervousness. "It was dead quiet and nothing ever happens in that neighbourhood anyway."

Nothing ever happens?" roared Brass, "What do you call the two dead bodies inside then?" he paused to breathe, glaring at the officer. "You do realize that CSI Sidle is the same CSI who was kidnapped last year because of her job don't you?"

"Yes sir," replied Holmes, lowering his head so he could avoid meeting Brass' gaze any longer.

"Tell me Officer Holmes, what would you be saying to me now if CSI Sidle had been killed and I'd had to go and notify her three children that they had lost their mother?"

"I don't know sir," replied the officer, biting his lip. Brass sighed loudly with frustration and stormed around the other side of his desk. Taking a few deep breaths he shuffled some papers around to clear his mind. When the officer shifted slightly for one foot to the other he looked up.

"You are on unpaid leave pending a full investigation. Give me you badge and your gun and go home for the night. Come in tomorrow to give a statement."

"Yes sir," replied Holmes, handing over his weapon and shield. "I'm sorry sir," he said, retreating to the door.

"Tell that to CSI Sidle," snapped Brass. With the officer gone he sank into his chair and dialled Grissom's number for an update, knowing the guy would be at the hospital as close to Sara as he could get.

...

When they arrived back at the lab Sara went straight to the locker room. She stuffed the contents of her locker into the backpack lying at the bottom and then gathered up the few personal items from her work station before heading to Ecklie's office. She doubted that the Assistant Lab Director was in but it was worth a try. As luck would have it he was behind his desk, talking angrily into the phone. Sara knocked once and then entered the room, waiting for him to hang up.

"Sara, I heard about what happened. Are you alright?" even his concern was tempered with his usual oily tone of superiority.

"I'll live," said Sara shortly. "I'm here to give you these," she said, placing her service weapon, ID badge and department issued cell phone on the desk in front of him. "I'm sorry but I can't keep doing this anymore. This," she pulled a folded sheet of paper on which she had quickly scribbled a notice of termination, "has my signature and intentions on it. I'll come in tomorrow to give my statement about tonight and an exit interview if I must, but I'm going home now. Good night."

Taking a deep breath she walked out of the office and into the hall. Feeling the eyes of every lab rat and assistant in the building on her she walked out to the parking lot, cradling her aching left arm to her chest. Grissom was still in the car; she had asked him to wait for her outside so they wouldn't attract any attention to themselves together. Getting in, she tossed her backpack into the back, buckled her seatbelt and closed her eyes with a sigh. Grissom gently squeezed her hand before pulling out onto the road.

...

...

Please R&R, many thanks