Disclaimer: I own nothing related to CSI.

CHAPTER 33

With Oscar's truck in the front, Sara followed the tracks left in its wake. The time alone allowed her to decompress after what happened with Fred. She couldn't believe what Fred did. Sure he was a flirt, but Sara never thought for a minute that he would attack her, especially in such a vulnerable situation.

And the situation could have been worse. What if she was the one who had been hurt when they fell down the ravine? She might not have been able to stop Fred if he attacked her while she was hurt. He might have raped her.

A feeling of nausea hit her as she realized the magnitude of what Fred had done. The son-of-a-bitch could have raped me, she thought. If Gil knew what had happened, he would have pounced on Fred worse than Ramon.

Sara recalled how Grissom never trusted Fred. He described him as sleazy. And Sara thought while Gil would have been livid about what Fred did to her, he probably wouldn't have been surprised Fred initiated such a vile act.

Kind of like how you weren't surprised Sylvie Martin got her hands on Gil.

The thought hit her like a ton of bricks. Sara felt her heart sink into her stomach. Just like Gil put out warnings about Fred, Sara did the same thing with Sylvie. She always felt Gil was foolish about not being careful with Sylvie, but maybe he couldn't see how dangerous she could be.

Maybe Grissom wasn't just stringing Sara along at the airport; maybe he had true remorse for what happened. And maybe what happened wasn't exactly what Sylvie Martin had told her.

Maybe there was room in Sara's heart to forgive him.

But before she forgives him, he has to tell her the truth. No bullshit. Just the raw, honest truth, no matter how much it might hurt.

"I have to get home," Sara said aloud to absolutely no one but herself.

Home. While that word should conjure nothing but solace, it did anything but. She and Grissom faced another turning point in their relationship. They were on opposite sides of a chasm, neither knowing how deep, or how to bridge this gap they both created.

And despite all the the uncertainty she faced and will face, Sara missed her husband. Longed to see his face. Longed to erase the ugliness from seeing him at the airport and try get to on solid ground. She hoped he still felt the same way.

With so many thoughts floating in her mind, Sara hadn't realized she had slowly lifted her foot off the gas pedal. Soon she began driving at a snail's pace, which created a chasm of road between hers and Oscar's truck.

"Damn," Sara said as she pushed on the gas. By the time she closed the gap, both trucks had entered the city, leaving muddy tracks upon the city's uneven, paved roads.

As she made a left turn while tailgating Oscar's bumper, Sara noticed how filthy her hands were. If she wanted to leave the country as soon, as possible, she would have to wash up and change clothes.

Fortunately, she was prepared for that scenario, as long as a certain something was still safe under the passenger seat.

When they reached the office, Sara put the old rusted out Chevy in park then reached under the seat to search for her backpack. In all the commotion, she had forgotten about it, and now she was worried it fallen out of the truck when Ramon's door unexpectedly swung open.

She breathed a sigh of relief when she felt the well-worn pack. Call her anal retentive, but she had packed essentials for any emergency in her backpack — first aid kit, toiletries, a change of clothes, two pairs of socks and two pairs of underwear, bug spray, sunscreen and her wallet.

The only thing not in the backpack was her passport. But that is only because Sara carried that item in her Saddlemen waterproof lanyard bag around her neck. She pressed her palm to her chest to make sure that was still where it should be.

As long as she had those items, she believed she could reschedule her flight and get home to Vegas earlier than her original itinerary. And she could do so without returning to the base camp. There really wasn't anything there she couldn't live without except...

She unzipped the backpack and searched inside for one item. With a smile, she took out a wadded-up sock. She unrolled it to find her cell phone and charger. Although she couldn't use the phone in Nicaragua, she wondered if there might be a converter electric plug. If so, she could at least charge the phone, so she could use it the moment she reached the states — especially if she has a layover.

Sara opened the door to the Chevy, heaved her backpack on her shoulder and slammed the door behind her. She pocketed the keys and walked to the office door where she found Oscar reading a local newspaper. He put down his paper and stood up to greet her. "Ah, Señora. Venga."

He waved for her to follow him as he went toward a storage room. Sara followed him cautiously, quite ready to strike if Oscar tried anything physical.

Oscar did nothing of the sort and pointed to a box in the corner. "Ropa. Si tu necesitas." He used his hands to mime what he was saying, pulling at his shirt and pants.

"Ropa?" Sara said. It dawned on her what the word meant. "Oh. Ropa. Clothes. … Oh, gracias. Um... yo tengo." She said, pointing to her backpack and saying she had some. "But... um... agua para...?" She made like she was splashing water on her face and cleaning her underarms.

Oscar nodded his head. He understood what she was meaning. "Necesitas bañarse. … Clean."

"Si."

Oscar took a look at how filthy she was, including her hair. He then had an idea. He grabbed some items from the clothing box and then gestured for her to follow him. "Venga conmigo."

He went to a door that led outside to a small yard and patio area. An eight-foot concrete wall on three sides provided fencing. On the wall of the building was a spigot with a hose attached. He pointed to it, and then showed her the articles from the box — a towel and a woman's one-piece bathing suit. "Is OK?"

Sara thought about it. She knew there was too much mud on her to clean in a bathroom sink. If she wore the bathing suit she could wash all the mud off her using the hose outside, and then change into her clothes in the bathroom. It was a good solution. "Gracias Oscar. Um... Voy... cambio... baño."

The Spanish was sketchy, but Oscar understood her fine. She would change in the bathroom and come back out to wash. "Si. Señora."

The two of them went back inside and Oscar opened the bathroom door for her and turned on the light. "Un momento," he said as he briskly walked to the storage area, and then came right back. "Necesita javon?"

Sara knew that word. "Soap? Si. Yo tengo. Gracias."

Oscar looked at her and smiled. He gestured for her to take the bar of soap he fetched. "Take. Si necesita mas."

Sara laughed. She figured that was Oscar's nice way of saying, "Lady, you're a mess and you're going to need a lot of soap." She took new bar of soap. "Gracias."

Before entering the bathroom, Sara took the keys to the truck and handed them to Oscar. He took them then urged her to enter the bathroom. "I... make sure... no one enter."

Sara smiled and nodded her thanks as she closed the door. Oscar seemed genuinely concerned for her and for her privacy. She wondered if Oscar's comments stemmed from something Ramon had told him. Yet, she still locked the door and checked for any peepholes. She found none.

After changing in the bathroom, she wrapped the towel around her and went back outside to the patio. The water from the hose was cold and coppery, but it did the trick. Sara felt better as she lathered up and washed away the layers of filth — both the literal mud and the figurative filth that came from Fred putting his hands on her.

She washed herself several times, especially when a memory of Fred grabbing her popped in her mind. She was glad Oscar gave her more soap. She quickly used up all of hers, along with a good deal of the new bar of soap.

After getting all the suds off of her, Sara took a quick inspection of the landscape around her. Seeing absolutely no eyes upon her, she put the nozzle of the hose inside the top of the swimsuit. She squirmed as the cold water hit certain sensitive parts of her body. She moved the house to her back and front a few times.

After finishing with the hose, she wrapped the towel around herself and went back into the bathroom with her backpack in tow. With the ability to strip down in privacy, she cleaned herself a little more using water from the sink before drying again and dressing.

Destined for a trash can, her dirty clothes laid in a neat pile in the corner of the cramped bathroom. After Sara dried her hair, she began to feel 100 percent better. She had just finished brushing her hair when she heard yelling from another room.

Sara repacked her backpack with her essentials and went to find out the reason for Fred and Ramon's shouting match.

Fred Mandel could barely conceal his arrogant amusement as he regarded Ramon Alvarez's concerns. "Ramon, you are overreacting. You know, I'd bet a $100 you aren't even reading the notes correctly"

Furious with his findings and Fred's attitude, Ramon refused to conceal his emotions. "Don't bullshit me, Fred," Ramon said. "I know how to read research notes. And now that I've read these notes, I understand why that Janice person bolted out of here early."

"She left because of problems back home," Fred said. "It had nothing to do with the project. And there's nothing in these notes that say something was wrong with the project."

Ramon laughed. "You are so full of shit, Fred" he said, showing Fred the packet of information. "And these notes I found here prove it."

Once Sara saw Ramon slam that new packet of papers on the desk, she snatched them up before Fred could reach them. Even as she quickly perused the pages, she could tell the discrepancies between this set of notes and the notes they had access to at the campsite. "Fred, there is a lot of stuff in this report that isn't presented in the one you've showed us."

"Neither one of you have the right to go into my office or read my reports!" Before he could get close enough to Sara to grab the reports, she swiftly handed the papers back to Ramon.

"You know what? Fine," Fred said. "There's no talking to you two. Janice was a shitty researcher who couldn't identify the northeast corner of our project grid from a hole in the ground."

After suffering through a humiliating episode in the aftermath of the car accident, Fred puffed up his chest. "And neither one of you two are worth a damn either. Vicky and I can run circles around you both."

Instead of being insulted, both Sara and Ramon stood firm and confident. "Sara," Ramon said. "I do believe that's an invitation for us to leave."

"Not that either of us needed one," Sara agreed. "Fred, I formally resign from this position and will be leaving today for the states."

"Today?!" Fred said. "You can't just change your itinerary!"

"I can and I will," Sara said.

"Fuck you, Sidle!" Fred said.

That outburst not only caught Ramon's attention, but spurred Oscar to come into the room as well. They both seem to give a look that said they were at the ready to take care of Señor Mandel, if Sara saw fit.

But Sara didn't need them to do anything. She took a step toward Fred, and invaded his personal space. "After that little stunt you pulled earlier, I truly think it is in your best interest to let me go without another word. Or do I need to remind you of my background in law enforcement?" After Sara spoke, Fred shifted his eyes downwards. "The failure of this project is on your head, Fred, not Janice's and certainly not ours."

Sara took a step back. Fred looked around him to see he didn't have a friend in this fight. He skulked away, his limp caused by his hurt ankle mysteriously forgotten. Within the silence in the room, it was easy to hear the door slam as Fred left the office.

"So you're not going back to the camp?" Ramon asked.

Sara took off her backpack. "I have enough here to get me back to Vegas, including my wallet, passport and cell phone."

"Always prepared, right?" Ramon said.

"I try to be."

"You do realize that means I have to go back to camp alone," Ramon mockingly whined.

"I think you can hold your own," Sara retorted. "But that doesn't mean you have to stay there long."

"You've got a point there," Ramon agreed. "Señor," he added as he turned to Oscar. "Es posible que podamos contratar como conductor?"

Oscar lit up as he pondered being a driver for the duo. "Si. Si. Cual quieremos hacer." Whatever you need, he told them.

Ramon asked Oscar to stick around while he and Sara did some work on the computer. Oscar said he would stay by the door and make sure that Fred does not disturb them.

Sara took a seat in front of the computer and removed the lanyard from around her neck. Along with her passport, she kept a handwritten copy of her travel itinerary, which included passenger number. Using that information, she logged onto American Airlines to see how to change her flight arrangements.

Ramon looked around the room for something to sit on and idly chatted as he moved about. "See. I should be prepared like you. If I had my itinerary in my wallet, I could just go to the airport with you." He found a stool to sit on and pulled it next to Sara as she continued to tap on the keyboard. "I'm guessing you just want to head over there after you make these arrangements. But maybe I can try to change my flight or at least write down information and change it at the airport." Ramon looked through the various papers on the desk for a clean sheet and a writing utensil. "If I pay Oscar a little more, he might be willing to drive me to the camp and wait till I pack before we get on the road and drive to …"

Sara noticed how Ramon suddenly stopped talking. She turned her attention from the monitor to Ramon, who was holding a single sheet of paper in his hand and a look of concern upon his face.

"Hey," Sara said. "What's up?"

Ramon bit the inside of his lip before speaking. "Ummm... I found a note. I'm guessing Eugenia took it. What's your husband's last name?"

"Grissom. Gil Grissom," Sara said, as she craned her neck to try and read the note. "Why?"

"Well, this note says someone from Amalia called from Paris."

"Amalia?" Sara turned around in the seat. She was both curious and a bit nervous. "That's Gil's secretary in Paris. What does it say?

Ramon scratched his head, and clearly looked agitated. "Well, it says, 'Profesor Grissom está desaparecido. Por favor, volver a Las Vegas tan pronto como sea posible.'"

"It's saying I should go back to Vegas as soon as possible?"

"Yeah," Ramon said, his voice soft.

"But I don't understand the beginning to the message," Sara said. "Ramon? What does it say?"

"Well... desaparecido is a really strong word. I'm not sure his secretary used the right word."

"Jesus, Ramon," Sara said, losing her patience. "What does that mean?"

"OK. OK," Ramon replied, trying not to stumble on his words. "Desaparecido means 'missing,' but it means more than that. You would use it when someone has vanished."

Ramon noticed how the color drained from Sara's face and immediately tried to tone down the connotation. "But maybe that secretary of his... Amalia... Maybe she didn't realize that. Maybe she just means she can't get a hold of him. I mean, it was a surprise to you that he was going back to Vegas. Maybe he never told his secretary."

But Sara knew that wouldn't be the case. Grissom wouldn't have left Paris without informing Amalia first. And more importantly, Amalia was too gifted a linguist to use the wrong term when leaving such a brief message. If that word means "vanished," that means Gil Grissom has vanished.

And that scared the hell out of Sara.

She stood up, visibly shaken and unnerved. "I got to get to the airport now. OSCAR!"

Ramon stood up. "Sara, take it easy. It's probably just a misunderstanding. Don't do this to yourself."

"Ramon. Please. I need to go now."

The look in Sara's eyes broke Ramon's heart. "OK. OK." At that moment, Oscar entered the room, and Ramon immediately spoke to him. "Ella quiere salir ahora." She wants to leave now.

"Al aeropuerto?"

"Si."

"Bueno. Vamos."

"Come on, Sara," Ramon said softly, picking up her backpack. "You have your cell and your passport and everything?"

Sara patted herself down, her hands shaking as she did. "Yes. I have everything. Let's go."

The trio headed out the door and into Oscar's truck. No one voiced the necessity of writing a note to Fred about their plans or whereabouts. But Oscar did remember to leave the keys to the old, rusty Chevy on Fred's desk.

When they got to the airport, Sara was ready to jump out of the truck as soon as she saw departures, but Ramon stopped her. "We're both going in with you."

"You don't have..."

"How are you going to communicate with them?" Ramon asked. "Come on. Let us help."

"OK. Thanks."

Once inside the small terminal, Sara was grateful Oscar and Ramon accompanied her. Sara couldn't decipher much of what was said in the chaos and cacaphony of sounds. She followed Ramon a half step behind him, as Oscar walked protectively behind her, making sure a pickpocket or street urchin didn't bother the obvious American.

When they made it to the counter, Ramon turned on his charm, which he combined with his honest concern. In Spanish, he told the woman behind the counter how his friend needed to return to America as soon as possible. Although she didn't want to leave her post as a medical missionary, her husband was sick and needed her immediate attention.

As an added bonus, Oscar came up to the counter and said how worried he was about Sara since she was "embarazada."

Although Sara was oblivious to what Ramon and Oscar were saying, her raw and honest emotions made their act even more convincing. The woman found a seat on a flight to Los Angeles in 20 minutes, which would be possible since Sara didn't have any luggage to check. But Sara would have to pay the difference in fare herself, and once in LAX, she would have to find a connecting flight to Vegas.

Ramon quickly relayed the information in English to Sara, who enthusiastically nodded her head and gave the woman behind the counter her credit card. "Gracias. Gracias."

"De nada, señora" the woman said as she made the arrangements and printed a boarding pass in a short minute.

With a boarding pass in hand, Sara turned to Ramon and Oscar. "I don't know what you said to her. Am I supposed to be embarrassed about something?"

Ramon looked at Oscar, who turned red. Ramon clarified Oscar's statement. "Oscar said you were 'embarazada,' which means you're pregnant. He told the woman how he feared your stress would affect your unborn child."

It was Sara's turn to blush, but she let out a laugh, too. "You two are dangerous together." Sara laughed, which brought smiles to the two men's faces. "I don't know what to say. Thank you both."

She put out her hand to shake Oscar's hand. "Buena suerte, señora. Good luck."

Ramon then pulled her into a hug and released her, leaving his hands on her shoulders. "If I give you my card, would you please get in touch with me sometime. Just to let me know everything's OK, which it will be."

Sara put on a brave smile. "Sure." She took a card he extracted from his wallet.

"And don't forget when you describe me to your friends..."

"I'll be sure to talk about how good looking you are."

"You're the best," Ramon said, with a big smile. "Hey, I expect trashy romance novels details about when you and Gil hook up again."

Sara shook her head. He just couldn't help himself. "If we have a rendezvous in a castle, you'll be the first to know."

"I better be!" Ramon yelled, as he watched Sara leave. He and Oscar kept their eyes trained on Sara to make sure she was heading in the right direction. And of course, she was.

"Ojala que sea bien," Oscar said, hoping that Sara would be OK.

Ramon sighed. "Ojala que ella encuentra a su marido."

The duo turned to leave. Ramon truly did hope Sara would find her husband. He didn't know how Sara would take it if her husband truly had vanished.

tbc

A/N: I hope this chapter was OK. If it was on paper, I would have ball up the pages and thrown them in the trashcan before going to the manual typewriter and punching out the chapter again. (That's a fancy way to say, I rewrote it.) I hope it reads well. (CHAUNCEY: I especially hope you find it acceptable).

Reviews, comments, concerns appreciated.