A/N: These two insisted on supplying us with such detail that this wedding day chapter will now have to be considered part 3 out of 4…the reviews are so appreciated and reader support remains outstanding…this post is late night, so all mistakes are mine, and will be fixed as soon as I can…hope this pleases, and that you accept, on face value, the "legalese" from a person who doesn't watch Law and Order enough to contrive a better explanation… : ) …it's late, but you are so terrific, you make it all worth it… more soon as I can… -Kathy
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"You are cordially invited to Nick and Sara's Wedding Day"
"Nuptials begin at Noon"
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8:30 a.m.
Their plan was in shambles and now they were divided as to a new course of action.
Logan could barely rest the night before, lying restlessly next to Lillian until finally changing and heading down to the kitchen to calm his nerves without waking his sleeping wife.
Around midnight, knowing the rest of the household slept, Logan had taken the Jeep out to the cabin as they had discussed.
The plan was simple, really –
…Logan would cajole Sara into taking an early morning ride out to the pond, where he would insist they stop by the cabin.
…Brass would join him in explaining to Sara that they knew about Nick's threats.
…At that point, Grissom would emerge from the bedroom. It was decided that he not show his face immediately, as in Sara's current physical and emotional condition his abrupt appearance might send her fully into shock.
Logan had not disclosed to Brass and Gil that there was an additional part to his plan.
After Gil's return was made known, Logan would disclose, to all assembled, the information he had planned to impart to them before he stupidly was sidetracked with the uproar over the accusations about Gil and Sofia.
Then Billy was to come to the cabin and lead them to the back road leading to the main highway that would lead them to the airport.
His good friend the sheriff had offered the use of his private plane, willing to help Logan by flying Gil and Sara back to Vegas before Nick knew Sara was missing.
It had seemed like a perfect plan.
But Murphy's Law apparently was still in control.
Brass had been standing near the door anxiously awaiting Logan's arrival with Sara, not noticing Gil's absence as he stood at the bay window overlooking the pond.
Will she still want me?...after I just left her?... I just wanted to make it easy for her…just only ever wanted her to be happy…I died a little that night…I still feel dead inside…and I will – until I feel her in my arms…she's my life…but will she still love me?... she thinks I abandoned her…
Gil frowned at the sound of Logan's arrival…something was wrong.
He peered around the corner and moved stealthily into the middle of the large room, out of sight from those outside.
His heart froze as he saw Brass' worry and Logan picking her up…where was her shoe?
Was her leg bleeding?
Sara!
Brass opened the door for Logan, turning to glare at Gil to hide himself from view.
Reluctantly, he did move inside the bedroom, refusing to close the door fully so he could hear what was happening to his only love.
Her painful cry had him slamming closed his eyes and counting to ten – anything to avoid rushing to her side to soothe her.
She didn't need the shock of his sudden appearance, not now.
He would make himself wait, because he loved her enough to make this easy on her.
…but will she still love me?...
Soon Brass and Logan were standing in the doorway, moving to block him from Sara's view.
"This changes everything…we need to get her out of her now..." Logan began, turning to an angry Brass.
"You're damn straight this changes everything! What the hell is wrong with you, Logan?" Brass seethed in hushed tones so Sara wouldn't overhear.
"How can you sit there and look at the bruises your son inflicted on her…and that's what we are able to see!"
He shut his eyes in an attempt to ward off the images of crimes scenes with the many dead women who had brutalized by their violent husbands.
Upon opening them, he immediately switched his concerns to understanding the curious expression dominating Grissom's flushed countenance.
"Gil?" Logan asked, almost afraid of his reply.
"I'll kill him," Grissom stated softly, in a manner so matter-of-fact that it sent chills down the judge's spine.
"Gil, that won't solve anything-" he began, but was cut off by Gil's unseeing glare as he spoke in a tone so calm it totally belied the rage swelling inside him.
"He hurt her, Logan…" his pause was deliberate, and both men knew his next statement would give them the direction of their next actions.
"…but I…I wasn't there to stop him…"
"Hey! Don't do this, Gil!" Brass hissed stepped forward, pulling him deeper into the privacy of the small bedroom, away from Sara's hearing.
"YOU, my friend, may be guilty of a lot of things concerning Sara. But you would NEVER hurt her the way that bastard has been doing. She was hurt by that maniac, and you aren't going to take the blame for that monster. You got that?" he finished, face flushed with red.
"This isn't addressing the situation, gentlemen," Logan began, worried that their window of opportunity was growing shorter.
"Oh? And just what situation is that, may I ask?" Brass quipped angrily.
"We need to get Sara out of here-"
"We need to get Nick in handcuffs and in jail for assault and battery!" Jim almost yelled, catching himself immediately and lowering his volume – but not the venom in his words.
Logan sighed, knowing if it had been anyone else…
Shaking himself to clear his head, Gil interrupted both men from continuing down their tangents.
"Sara needs medical attention."
"Well, Logan, this is your show…what's it gonna be?" Brass stood toe to toe with the taller man, whose shoulders were slumping in worry.
Pulling himself up to his full height, Logan inhaled deeply and looked at Gil.
"You're right. Let me make her comfortable before we go to talk with her. Jim, can you empty the backseat of the car so Sara can lay down for the trip? Gil's suitcase can go in the trunk."
Brass, however, did not move.
Staring at Logan, he gritted his teeth as he spoke, "And Nick?"
The judge moved closer to Brass and said, "Let's just concentrate on Sara for now, alright?"
His eyes darting angrily from Logan to Gil, Brass expected some protest to come from the man who had remained awake all last evening professing, in word and deed, his love for Sara.
Gil moved towards the doorway as he shrugged his shoulders at Brass and simply stated, "He's right, Jim."
He became furious at the prospect that the person who had hurt this woman he loved like a daughter would somehow escape the consequences for his actions.
That is how Brass strode purposefully out of the room and towards the screen door, opening it harshly with clenched fists, heading to prepare the Jeep for their departure.
Logan continued with his plan, moving to offer Sara some Tylenol while making her comfortable.
He hoped that by blocking her view of the room, she would not see Gil hovering in worry around the doorway.
Logan wanted time to prepare her for Gil's appearance, allowing him to disclose his information and get them on the way to the airport as soon as possible.
Something inside of him groaned as Sara's intense pain caused her to lose consciousness briefly, will he ever get to tell her the truth?
Hearing Sara's anguished cry was too much for Gil, and he rushed forward calling out worriedly, "Sara!"
He reached her side just as her head flopped to the side of her pillow.
"Sara!" Gil whispered into her ear as his trembling hands reached under her back and pulled her to himself.
The joy of experiencing her warmth next to him was offset by the worry over her unconscious state.
At that exact second, the screen door slammed open to see an angry Brass with his weapon drawn.
"Put that thing away!" Logan shouted angrily, moving towards Brass.
Brass saw Gil clutching Sara and realized what had caused her to cry out.
His reaction had been visceral at hearing first Sara then Gil's cry penetrate the stillness of the cabin's exterior.
I thought Nick had rushed the place, wanting to hurt her again…he hurt her…my Sara…
Holstering his weapon, Logan glared but remained speechless as Brass made no apologies for wearing his sidearm to protect Sara.
And that was the scene that etched itself on Sara's returning vision: Logan and Brass at a silent standoff, Brass - was he wearing his weapon? – and Gil holding me tightly, whispering how he loves me, to please come back to him.
I will…I miss you…please don't leave me again…I never want to wake up from this dream…
It was only the persistence of his strong arms caressing her in loving strokes up and down her back,
the tender whispers of I love you, Sara…I'm so sorry…please, Sara…,
and finally the broad smile of Logan looking over Gil's shoulder saying, "Looks like she's coming around,"
that finally convinced Sara it was not a dream.
Gil was here!
He was holding her… here… speaking words of love… right here…
"Gil!" Sara moaned, and he leaned back enough to cover her lips with kisses so tender they prevented any other words from escaping.
"Don't move, darlin'" Logan said as Brass moved over to investigate for himself that she was looking a bit better.
"Don't move that leg again, Sara. We need to get you to a doctor," Brass began but Sara was making a feeble attempt to dislodge herself from Gil's arms.
"No! I-I need to get out of here. Myself. Nick will find me! I won't have you hurt because of me!"
Gil refused to loosen his hold on her, yet worried that in her struggles she would reinjure her leg and ankle.
"Sara! Stop!" Gil almost shouted, giving Logan a pang of regret that they needed to use that tone to calm down her actions.
Sara did pause for a moment, attempting to rein in the tears that threatened to fall.
He loved her. She knew that now. She could survive knowing that.
But Grissom would never survive the fallout from being with her, especially now that her actions would surely fan the flames of Nick's rage.
"No! I can't-…you can't be with…Gil, please let me go…it's what needs to happen…it will be okay-"
"HOW will it be okay, Sara? Explain to me how it will be okay if we aren't together!" his voice raised.
The whole issue of Sara keeping Nick's threats a secret was raising its ugly head.
She could have told me.
I would have left the job behind in a heartbeat.
If Sara would have me, we could have faced this together.
But she took it all on her own shoulders, wanting to spare me.
And I left, wanting to spare her.
What a pair we are!
In that moment, however, Logan was becoming more agitated over the passing of time.
"Sara-" he began earnestly, but she began fighting for Gil to release her.
"No! Just get me into the car. Let me go. Please," she turned her face to look them each in the eye.
"Please…just let me go…"
Brass and Logan were moved to silence, but Gil was fully responsive.
He smoothed her hair and forced her to look at him,
"Never."
She shook her head.
If he only knew the truth…I can't compete with his life's work…I'm not enough…I love him…but he has to let me go…
She started to speak, but he overrode her words,
"Never again…I love you, Sara."
He doesn't know the truth…I'm not worth throwing away everything that's important to him…
"I love you, Sara Sidle."
She stilled in his arms, trying to find the words to make it easier on him when she left.
"Sara – I. Love. You. –" Gil said directly into her sorrowing eyes,
"And I know all about how Nick's been blackmailing you into marrying him."
He felt her pull away as her body lost the energy to fight.
She leaned back against the pillows, closing her eyes, and shaking her head softly.
"No-"
"Yes, honey." "Yes, darlin', it's true." "Yes, doll, we all know." They answered at once.
She pressed herself further into the pillows, wishing to crawl away from their intense gazes.
"But…how?"
Logan moved forward as Gil slipped to the floor at her head, grasping her hands as his lifeline.
Sitting on the table before her, he moved a strand of hair from her disbelieving eyes and began his explanation.
"Darlin', I've known for a few days now, " he started, feeling like those days had lasted a lifetime.
She stared unbelieving as she could only utter in confusion, "…how?..."
Logan stroked her cheek while adding, "Billy. He overheard Nick the last time you were in the stables."
Her confusion was increasing and her eyes kept darting between the three men she loved more than her life.
Logan turned slightly towards Gil and Brass.
"Look, here's the bottom line, darlin'.
We all know, and we are determined to keep you away from Nick and safely with Gil.
We need to get you to a doctor's and then the sheriff will fly you and Gil to Vegas this afternoon.
And time is running out. I need to get back before Lillian misses me and Nick becomes suspicious."
Brass was moving idly onto the balls of his feet and slightly back, anxiety crushing his ability to stand still due to his worry of Nick's arrival and the subsequent situation which would only cause Sara more grief.
There was more, she could see it in Logan's eyes.
"What else, dad? There's something else you want to tell me."
Gil looked to Logan as he remembered that there had been a discussion that never took place which Logan had cited as "very important". Could this have something to do with Sara?
The judge stood and was now kneeling in front of Sara.
"Darlin', after I found out about Nick's despicable threats, I had my law clerks research Nevada law, federal statutes, and the proprietary ethics –"
"You did what?" chimed in a stunned duo, with Brass and Gil gaping at him.
"Dad, I don't understand."
A smile began to spread across Gil's face. Logan smiled back.
"Sara, according to the research of litigation documented in our law journals, Nick's threats were meaningless."
"But…but the lab policy…Ecklie…" Sara began to protest excitedly, her whole world now definitely standing on its ear.
Logan shook his head before glancing at a speechless Grissom and Sara.
"I spoke with your DA officially off the record, and called a few friends on the circuit court bench for their off the cuff opinions," he added.
"Basically, any lawyer who would call your evidence into question because of an implied conflict of interest would have to show that you and Gil conspired to doctor your findings – and that can't happen logically because of the amount of evidence processing done by the lab techs."
Gil thought about this for a moment.
He said aloud to anyone listening, "It's true."
He looked at Sara and said, "Most of our evidence is done on a double blind. As a rule, we give them samples and they tell us what the substance is, and they run the results through CODIS for verification. Even if we tried to tamper with the evidence, the way we document our submissions, it would be difficult to cover-up such deception without leaving some kind of paper trail. "
"Besides," he added more quickly, his heart racing at averting a major career tragedy over a lack of legal perspective, "There is documentation enough to prove that while we may be primaries on the case, there is still team involvement in solving critical cases."
He looked at Brass and simply said, "That reduces fraternization to an internal issue, with implications for Sara concerning "promotions for favors received".
Brass winced at the idea of that gossip spreading with Sara's name attached to it.
"So what does this all boil down to?" Jim asked, still confused.
"Well, our joint cases would be safe - basically the courts would be forced to go with the evidence."
He turned and smiled at a still stunned Sara.
"And the rest would be Ecklie's domain…" he added, squeezing her hands supportively.
He was bluffing! Nick made it sound like the end of the world for us, and now Logan had just wrapped up our worries and has replaced them with a real beginning for us…
"Gil," Sara choked out, overcome by the drama her relationship with Nick had fostered, worry suddenly reappearing.
It really couldn't be that simple, could it?.
"But, Gil…your reputation…" she knew she was grasping at straws, but she wanted to be sure that he was thinking about himself, and all he had to lose if he continued to pursue her.
He silenced her with a kiss.
"Don't worry, honey. Besides," he turned and looked at Logan before turning to wink at her.
"We know a great lawyer."
Next thing she knew he had wrapped his arms around her happily one minute, the next moment he had lifted her off the couch and turned towards the door.
Brass was still shaking his head, trying to figure out what it all meant.
He knew one thing for certain.
Logan had pulled in more favors to help Sara and Gil in the last week than he probably had done in his time on the bench.
That kind of debt will take a lifetime to repay, Brass swore an oath to that effect.
Gil was moving swiftly towards the door as Brass turned to hold the screen door at bay.
Logan text messaged Billy and moved quickly outdoors.
He had rushed ahead to open the front seat door of the Jeep, helping to steady Sara as Gil moved into the middle of the backseat, reaching over to Logan to assist her into settling herself next to him.
Sara reached up to hold Logan close, tears streaming at leaving this man whom she adored like a father.
"Dad – " she whispered, sadness engulfing her at the lack of time for a proper goodbye.
"I'll see you soon, darlin'" he whispered in her ear, not trusting his voice at this time.
When she looked startled, suspicious that he was just saying it to make her feel better, Logan laughed and said, "Give me a day or two to straighten out this mess Nick made. I promise I'll give Gil's phone a ring and make my way to Vegas to sort it all out."
Pleased that this was not going to be a permanent separation, Sara smiled a full Sidle smile at this man she would forever call her "dad".
And the love in that smile warmed his heart so unexpectedly that Logan's thoughts immediately ran to another time, another smile, when Anna…
He shook himself visibly.
There would be time for remembering later.
Now was time for making a memory.
He kissed her forehead and then glanced into Gil's eyes.
"Please watch over her, Gil."
Blue eyes pledged an oath as he rasped a reply, "With my life…"
Stepping away from the Jeep, Logan turned to acknowledge the hoofs of the approaching horse.
Billy appeared riding Buttercup, making Sara smile widely as he dismounted and moved towards her.
Billy was taken aback at Sara's glow of happiness after observing her days of misery, and was even more astonished as she reached out to him and whispered, "Thank you, Billy, for everything."
Pulling out his kerchief, Billy dried his moist eyes and cheeks with a gruff rub of the cloth before turning away from this little lady who had stolen his heart, brusquely replying, "Dang sun!"
Now Logan found himself facing Brass who had already started the Jeep in preparation for following Billy to the airport.
The two men stared at each other, Brass' eyes flicking uncontrollably in the rearview mirror at the bruised shoulder skin visible under Sara's tank top.
Returning back to his gaze, Brass sighed and lifted a hand towards Logan.
The judge gratefully accepted this handshake, both men expressing their truce for Sara's sake – but silently acknowledging this matter of abuse was far from over.
Giving Billy his altered instructions to now ride with them and ensure they got to the clinic before the airport, Logan himself mounted Buttercup as Billy agreeably buckled his seatbelt in the front passenger seat of the Jeep.
Another moment and Sara was leaning into Gil's embrace as she lowered her hand from their final goodbye.
Logan sat on horseback for a few moments, allowing the silence to envelope him in the peace of a well-done deed.
He watched their vehicle retreat up over the mountain, and Logan sighed.
Saying goodbye to Sara was hard enough.
Now, however, he was faced with the harder task of the day.
He kicked his heels and pulled hard on the reins, galloping towards the ranchhouse.
It was time to confront Nick.
Before disappearing from view, Gil could be seen closing the short distance between them and lavishing Sara with a gentle hug and kisses.
She laughed at his persistence, it was as if she were an oasis that he had just discovered after a desert exile.
He was intoxicating, and although her leg ached painfully, his kisses provided a euphoria that released endorphins on a magnified scale.
Pulling back slightly to catch her breath, giving in to the urgency of his desperation to feel her close to him gave her only enough time to sigh and say, "Oh, Gil…"