You don't know how it feels to have your heart broken until it happens. But when it finally does happen, it feels as if your heart is being held in a vice-like grip while at the same time being ripped down the middle. I thought that I had felt heartbreak before this moment as I had more than enough time on this planet under my belt. Then this phone call came in. I knew the second I hear Bridget's broken voice that I would do whatever it took to get Bridget back.

All of us sat around the conference table with various states of shock on our faces. I glanced across the table to see tears spilling down Catherine's face as she blankly stared at the phone. She took a few moments to compose herself, clearing her throat in the process before speaking. "We're going to say yes to this agreement, right Grissom?"

He gave her a sympathetic look, his face not wavering from its stoic expression. "There's a lot we have to consider here Cath-"

"What's there to consider?" I was surprised at the confidence in my voice despite the clawing feeling of desperation at my stomach. "They're telling us if we don't do what they ask they'll kill Bridget. What are we supposed to do, feed her to the fucking wolves?!"

"There's more to consider than that Nick! We'd be letting an international criminal free in exchange for one of our own. Disregard the fact that it's unethical on all levels, it's not our call to make. All we can do is get Brass involved and we'll go from there."

"I agree with Nicky on this one. We don't have the time to consult Brass on this. He said he's going to call back in 10 minutes. Besides, this situation became unethical the minute we started a conversation with Jesus and you know that." As much as Grissom didn't want to admit it, he knew Catherine was right.

I couldn't stop the satisfaction from rising within me as Grissom nodded his head. "What are we going to do?"

Bridget's POV

Though only a few minutes had passed since Jesus had hung up on the rest of the team, it felt like time was dragging by. Even as Jesus was voicing his demands to them I knew what the team's answer would be. It was against protocol, not to mention there were too many bureaucratic red hoops to jump through to meet his demands. It sucked, but I had accepted the fact that I was never going to make it out of this hell hole I was being held in.

Jesus must have grown impatient in the silence because he redialed the number with two out of the ten minutes remaining. As he waited for them to answer the phone, he stared at me from across the room. From the sinister look in Jesus' eyes, I could tell he knew what I was thinking. The fact that he was getting enjoyment from the pain in my eyes really showcased how much of a sadistic fuck this man is.

It took another thirty seconds for Grissom to answer the phone. "You have a deal, Jesus. We'll help you."

I had to stop my jaw from dropping as I heard Grissom's calm voice come through the phone. The tears started to well up in my eyes as well. I was going to make it out of this alive. I was going to be able to make it home.

"I'm glad to hear that you've come to your senses about this whole matter."

"On one condition. We wanted to talk to Bridget ourselves, to make sure she's ok." Jesus stared down at the floor, cursing under his breath as he nodded his head. Jesus threw the phone in my direction barely giving me enough to catch it from falling.

With my hands shaking I raised the phone up to my ear, my eyes maintained on Jesus. "Hello?"

"Bridget, it's Nick." I couldn't stop the way of relief that washed over me at the sound of his voice. The knots that had been building up in my stomach had unworked itself the second I heard his voice.

"Hey Nick."

"Look-" He cleared his throat. "I don't want to take up much time. Grissom's coordinating with Brass right now, we're hoping to have the handoff go down within the next hour or so. Listen, Bridget, I just want to say-"

"You want to say what?" I asked. At that question Jesus narrowed his eyes at me, signaling that my time was up.

"Keep your head down with him Bridget." Before I could ask Nick to elaborate, he hung the phone up leaving me with more questions than answers. Why couldn't they have just told Jesus the handoff time? More importantly, why did Nick tell me to keep my head down?

I know I normally put my author's note at the beginning but I have a little more to announce in this one then the others. First off, I'm sorry for not getting this chapter out sooner. A family member of mine was in the hospital over the Christmas Holiday so once they came home I was spending some much needed time with them. In conjunction with that, I'm sorry that this chapter is MUCH shorter than the others. I wanted this chapter to specifically be about them making the deal for Bridget's return. The next chapter will be much longer to make up for this one :)

I wanted you guys to know that after Working for The Dead is finished (which will only be a few more chapters sadly :,( ) I will be writing a posting A NEW CSI story! It won't be Nick and Bridget, but it will in fact be a Catherine and Warrick story. I have a really good idea for the story, I just need the time to iron out some of the details before I post it. So be on the the look out for that in the coming months!

Thanks for (hopefully) reading this entire author's note. I promise it'll be worth it ;)

~Miranda~