A/N: Although many readers felt this might be the end of the tale, I must remind you that these two tell their story in their own time…thanks to the amazing reviews and reader response to the last chapter…your positive comments are the reason I once again am burning the midnight oil to publish this chapter, as this weekend was a marathon of summer fun and this week will not provide too many opportunities to write…absolutely unbeta'd, so all mistakes are mine…more as soon as I can…you are all so terrific! -Kathy
--
"You are cordially invited to Nick and Sara's Wedding Day"
"Nuptials begin at Noon"
--
10:00 a.m.
Logan had stabled Champion and made his way with determined steps towards the kitchen area.
The household was abuzz with caterer's carts whizzing through open portals to the terrace room bedecked in tasteful swags of taffeta and lace swirling above the ornate tables adorned with fresh flowers and candles.
Logan spied his daughters attending the main door whose bell toned frequently with telegrams, gift deliveries, and a contingent of early arrivals. He sighed as he spotted some of Lillian's cousins who had traveled from a great distance to share in this special occasion.
Too bad they made the long trek only to be disappointed.
Not for the first time since he left the cabin did Logan consider how devastated Lillian was going to be.
He knew how hard she had been working on making this day special for Nick and Sara…
His anger resurfaced as he thought of Nick's treatment of Sara.
In some aspect, Logan blamed himself for allowing himself to get sidetracked with Sofia's accusations.
If I had just spoken with them earlier, this eleventh hour intervention could have been avoided…
He was about to heave a heavy-hearted sigh as Lillian's shrill tone reverberated through the open doorway, "Logan Stokes!"
Before he had a chance to speak, Lillian was already berating him from a distance.
"I was extremely clear that you were to focus on this wedding, today! I certainly did not expect you to disappoint your son on his special day!
But, of course, Billy shows up and you go running off to god knows where to handle some insignificant little matter –"
Logan was in no mood to deal with this tirade right now. As Lillian had begun releasing her displeasure at his disappearance, he had noted the time and realized he needed to find Nick as quickly as possible.
He interrupted her speech by growling, "It was not 'insignificant', Lil!"
She paid no attention and continued to berate him even louder.
"YOUR SON needs to be the focus of your attention today, sir!" she argued with a protective tone.
"Trust me on this, Lillian," Logan moved towards the main staircase as he began to speak, pausing in the doorway, his knuckles white as they gripped the decorative moulding around the doorway, "Nick is going to get my total attention!"
Lillian fumed as she watched him ascend the staircase two steps at a time before whipping around to discreetly chastise a waiter for his choice of buffet table centerpiece placement.
--
Nick's room was empty, causing Logan to utter an oath and race down the hallway towards the guest suites. If his intuition was correct, he knew where he might find his wayward son…
Reaching the intersection of the servant's corridor and the guest suites' hallway, Logan slowed as he heard voices.
Well, not so much voices as low pitches followed by occasional squeals.
Before he could move from his observation point, the door to Sofia's room swung open to reveal her pressed suggestively against Nick as they were liplocked, his hands roaming over the length of the back of her body.
He was whispering something about 'the next time' and she was giggling into his mouth as he ended his kiss with a passionate pull of her waist towards his body.
Ending the kiss, Sofia backed into the room and shut the door – unknowing that her performance had been observed by an angry Logan.
Nick stood a second facing the closed doorway as he began to rub his fingers over his mouth and turned – his motion halted as he understood his father had caught him exiting Sofia's room.
Instead of being remorseful, Nick pulled himself to his full height and shot his father a lascivious grin.
"Dad," he acknowledged the furious gaze directed towards him.
His pompous stroll down the hall indicated that he was unconcerned about his father's discovery of his tryst with Sofia.
As he approached his father, Nick expected to just saunter past him to head towards his bedroom to prepare for the exchange of vows.
Logan reached out to block Nick's retreat, an action which only elicited a moan from the groom-to-be.
"Oh, what? Are we going to have a "little talk" now?" he baited his father condescendingly.
Nick was unprepared for his father's action as the older man grabbed his son's shirt by the back collar and practically threw his startled body on the floor ahead of him.
Reaching down immediately to reclaim his grasp on his son's shirt and belt buckle, he sped them down the hallway towards Nick's room.
A stunned Nick had regained his presence of mind just as they reached his doorway as Logan bodyslammed his son onto the door, causing it to smack open effortlessly.
Nick found himself hurtling towards his bed, but missing it by several feet.
Having landed on his knees, Nick regrouped and spun around furiously, his position reminiscent of his favorite childhood game of crab walking.
Knowing his son intended to lunge towards him, Logan moved forward and placed his large foot squarely on his son's chest, causing Nick to fall flat on the ground under the pressure of his father's shoe.
"Don't move, Nicholas. I have a lot to say to you."
Somehow, being back in the family home and confronted by his father in a manner Nick had never experienced before, he found himself obeying his father's directives.
Removing his foot as he fought with the urge to injure this person who could inflict such emotional pain to a woman he claimed to love, Logan reached down and pulled Nick up by the collar.
Coming eye-to-eye with his son, Logan looked into his eyes.
"I don't even know who you are anymore, Nick.
I see how you carry on behind Sara's back, and it sickens me."
Nick interrupted, "What I do or don't do behind Sara's back is none of your business."
Logan continued as if Nick had not spoken.
"I listen to how you treat her verbally, dismissive and hurtful. What kind of life is that for any woman, especially one like Sara?"
Nick began to offer a rebuttal, but his father's next remark brought him up cold,
"I know about your threats against Gil."
For the first time, something akin to panic began to reside in Nick's upper chest.
"Wha-" he stuttered but could not find enough breath to continue, shock constricting his upper airway.
Logan moved forward forcefully before adding, "Did you really think I was just going to stand by and watch you ruin her life this way?"
Concerned about what his father was implying by using the past tense, Nick tested the waters by saying, "I need to speak to Sara."
He moved two steps away from his father before hearing the words he dreaded, "She's gone."
--
At the clinic, Dr. Evans was returning to the exam room with the films of Sara's X-ray.
He observed the three men, one of whom he had known and respected for years, the other a law enforcement office, and then…this older man who seemed to have a romantic interest in his patient.
The doctor wondered if her obvious return of his attentions was heartfelt or conditioned…
Conditioned by the obvious abusive fractures and bone injuries indicative of abuse.
In his meager clinic, it was hard to date the earlier damage, but their presence supplied the source of her current leg pain.
All three men looked up, and Gil immediately understood that the doctor had suspicions about Sara's injury.
Realizing the doctor would want to speak to Sara alone, Billy just smiled at Sara and said he'd wait outside.
The doctor expected the other two men to leave so he could speak to the patient alone, but was surprised when Gil moved forward and took Sara's hand before meeting the doctor's gaze.
"Dr. Evan, before you speak to Sara-" he paused taking out his cell phone and placing it in the hands of the physician, "perhaps it would be best if you spoke to Sara's physician – Dr. Craig at Desert Palms Hospital in Las Vegas."
Surprise showed momentarily in the doctor's eyes, to be replaced by curiosity as he reached mechanically for the phone.
Looking at Sara pointedly, his gaze fell again on Grissom as he spoke, "If you will excuse me a moment…"
Alone again, Gil reached down to smooth some errant curls from Sara's tired eyes.
"Think you can sleep, honey? That call might take awhile."
Sara shook her head absentmindedly, trying with all her effort not to let Gil see how much pain she was enduring after the doctor's manipulation of her bruised and bleeding ankle.
He smiled at her reassuringly, fury raging that their departure was being delayed because of her traumatic childhood injuries.
Keeping her hand in his, Gil pulled over the empty stool and perched atop the smooth surface before leaning in towards her.
She was fighting to keep her eyes open, glancing towards the door with eyes full of worry.
"Sara-" Gil spoke softly trying to ease her obvious stress.
"I just wish he'd hurry and we could leave, Gil…I…I wish we never came here, I told you I was fine, I just wanted to get on that plane-"
"Shhh, honey….don't get yourself upset now…" he pressed his other hand reassuringly over their already interwined fingers.
"You are hurt, my dear, and you need medical attention."
His brows furrowed slightly at her continued worry.
"Sara…you're safe now.."
Her gaze shot in his direction.
Gil smiled and spoke softly, "I've got you now…and I'm never letting you go again…never!…"
Meanwhile in his office, Dr. Evans was finishing his consult.
"Thank you for clearing up that matter, Dr. Craig," the physician spoke as he grimaced at the amount of damage he was viewing on the X-ray clipped to the lighted viewer in his office.
"Now, what medications have you already prescribed?" Dr. Evans asked as he pulled up her chart.
"Hmm…doesn't seem as if she is taking them, though…she indicated no medications currently being taken."
Dr. Craig was concerned. Why wouldn't she have taken the medication? Were they kept from her, or did she herself decided against taking them?
His worry caused him to request a new prescription filled immediately with enough samples to last her a few days in case her return trip was postponed.
After agreeing to give Sara a prescription, Dr. Evans ended his call before turning once more to study the films displayed before him.
He reached over to unlock him medicine cabinet, snapping open a small, opaque drawstring bag and filling it with a week's worth of Valium samples.
Clicking his pen to write a prescription as he feared Sara might lose the samples in her travels, he strode back to the exam room with bag, script, and phone in hand.
Upon hearing the door open, Sara practically jumped off the table as she was startled awake.
The fear in her eyes was evident, and the doctor again glanced from Sara to Gil, trying to make himself believe the incredible report he had just received from Dr. Craig.
Not one to dismiss his intuition, Dr. Evans bluntly stated that he needed to speak to Sara alone and turned to swing open the door with a glare towards the two men.
Knowing that arguing would merely delay the inevitable, Gil leaned over to kiss Sara lightly on the forehead before saying, "We'll be right outside, honey, then we'll leave when you finish up with the doctor."
Again, the physician was startled at the look of absolute adoration Sara sent in Gil's direction.
When they were alone, Sara replaced her guard as she prepared to do battle with this physician over her release.
Noting her posture, Dr. Evans moved to reassure her that he just wanted to be sure she felt safe, and to be absolutely certain that Sara did not consider herself threatened by either of the men who brought her to the clinic.
At this, Sara almost burst out laughing, much to the consternation of the straight-laced doctor.
Moving towards her, Sara brought a hand out to stop his movements.
"I trust these gentlemen with my life…and as soon as I leave her, I am going to be married to one of them….today…in Vegas…"
Surprised, the doctor queried, "Today? Do you think that's wise? Perhaps you can wait a day or two, surely if you've waited this long-"
Sara laughed again to the doctor's puzzlement.
"THAT's the irony, is it not?" she said as she thought about how long she had waited to finally get to this moment.
Sighing in defeat, Dr. Evans concluded Sara's condition may not be totally stabilized, but he could firm up no real objections to her leaving.
Ten minutes later, the happy couple was armed with discharge instructions to keep her leg completely immobile, and samples of Valium to act as a pain reliever and muscle relaxant.
Billy chuckled as his happy smile widened with every turn of the Jeep's tires as the four friends sped out of the parking lot and down the highway towards the nearby airport.
--
Nick looked as if he had been slapped in the face.
"What do you mean, gone?" he spat furiously, moving towards his father menacingly.
"Just that, Nick," his father smiled, enjoying his son's squirming as he wrestled to comprehend that his hold over Sara had disintegrated into nothingness.
"Where. Is. Sara.?" Nick was almost screaming as he stood directly in front his father, contemplating how to remove that smug look of triumph crossing the older man's face.
Before his demand could be satisfied, a flustered Lillian bounded into the room.
"Logan! What is going on here?"
She turned sympathetically towards Nick and said, "Dear, tell me what is going on here, please."
Nick fumed in his father's direction and said angrily, "Why don't you ask him, mother? He seems to have all the answers today!"
Again, an angry Lillian encroached on her husband's private space as she barked, "Well??"
Logan looked from Lillian to Nick and for the first time noticed that they actually were very similar in stature, disposition, and – character.
Glaring at them both with disdain, he looked right into Lillian's eyes and smiled wickedly.
"It's over, Lillian."
"Over? Wha-" she sputtered, only to be interrupted by Logan's crushing verbal blow:
"The wedding is off."
Lillian felt faint.
All those people…all the preparations…how could that ungrateful little-
"Where is she?" demanded Lillian, bent on dragging that little bitch to her room and dressing her in that gown herself if need be.
NO ONE does this to my Nicky and gets away with it while I am alive!
"She is gone, Lillian. Back to Vegas. Out of Nick's life forever, thank god."
His wife turned angrily towards him after that final remark.
"How can you be so uncaring of Nick's feelings?"
"NICK'S feelings? What about Sara? All that she-"
But Lillian was not hearing any of it.
She continued to call Sara's character and family background into question, keeping Logan preoccupied with the argument…
…causing him to drop his gaze momentarily from Nick's face.
If he had been watching, he would have seen the maniacal twist of his lips and the deep seated anger set itself in his eyes.
She thinks she's gotten away from me…to be with Grissom?
Sara is mine!…no one else is going to have her!…
I've waited to take her to my bed, and I'll be damned if I'm going to lose that sweet taste to another man's bed…
Especially to a tired old man like Grissom…
His thoughts fueled his rage and Nick bounded out of the room towards Sara's suite.
Finding the door locked, Nick used his training to knock the door wide open under his powerful kick.
Sweeping through the room, his eyes immediately went to the dresser top, bare except for the note and the shimmer of the engagement ring laying on the smoothed sheet of paper.
The sight of the ring sent Nick over the edge.
He grabbed the ring and jammed it into this pocket.
Spinning around to leave, he spotted Sara's dress on her closet door.
The sight of it made him pause…followed by a small grin playing across his lips.
In one fell swoop, he yanked the hanger off the hook as he began to fold the plastic covered garment in his arms, his feet hurrying into the servant's corridor.
Within a minute, Nick had grabbed his tuxedo and flung that on top of the dress.
Pausing only to pull open his top dresser drawer, Nick pulled the small velvet box from its resting place.
Digging into his pocket, he now placed her engagement ring next to the wedding band Greg was to carry for him.
Placing both rings together, Nick snapped the box closed and shoved it deep into this jean's pocket before racing down the back steps to the kitchen.
As his luck was holding, there was no one in the room as he sped out the door and down the hill.
Praying to remain unnoticed by the group of people now assembled on the front and side lawns, Nick escaped to the nearby grove of trees without being detected.
In the shaded privacy of the grove, Nick yanked open the door of this car that was owned by an old high school pal of his who insisted that this groom needed a "honeymoon getaway" car that would not be easily recognizable by his family and friends.
Nick himself had been an active participant in past wedding stunts involving decorating the honeymoon vehicle, inside and out, with cans, signs, balloons, shaving cream, etc.
So, unbeknownst to anyone including Sara, Nick had set his alarm for the middle of the night yesterday and had brought his and Sara's packed suitcase to this friend's vehicle which the guy had hidden in this exact clandestine location.
Throwing their bridal attire haphazardly in the backseat, Nick fished out the ring box and threw it into the glove compartment.
With narrowed eyes that made no attempt to conceal his disgust over the entire situation, Nick bade the entire wedding scene goodbye as he cranked the engine and head off unseen towards the main highway.
His father's words had burned into his hardened heart:
"She is gone, Lillian. Back to Vegas. Out of Nick's life forever, thank god."
As he slammed the stick shift into fourth gear, Nick sneered aloud,
"We'll just see about that, dad…."
--
Having stowed Gil's bag into the cargo hold of the Cessna , the sheriff handed Sara's crutches to her as she settled herself into as comfortable a position as she could find.
"No luggage for your lady?" asked the sheriff, making Gil smile broadly.
My lady…
Shaking his head, he replied that she was leaving behind some things and that she would get clothes from her apartment when they returned.
The noise from the propellers had drowned out much of his response, but the sheriff nodded as if he were satisfied with the answer.
Waving to Brass and Billy, Sara blew them both a kiss before being pulled back into Grissom's chest by two strong arms embracing her lovingly.
Leaning back into his embrace, the sheriff motioned that they were about to taxi out.
As he radioed the tower for takeoff instructions, Brass and Billy hopped into the Jeep and drove off a way to safely watch their takeoff.
Inside the plane, Gil hugged Sara softly, kissing her hair and trailing pecks down to her ear as he whispered loudly enough for her alone to hear,
"In a few hours, you will be Sara Grissom…forever…"
He hugged her again and whispered, "I can't wait, honey…I'll spend the rest of my life trying to make you the happiest woman in the world."
Sara turned her head over the warmth of his lips, unspeakable joy making speech almost impossible except on a single breath as she exhaled softly near his ear, "Oh, Gil…"