Disclaimer: I don't own.

A/N: And here I thought nobody would know the bumblebee song. :) My one-year olds love it. And it makes me think of Grissom, so...

Hope you enjoy! I'll try to make myself start another chapter tonight!

Chapter Sixty Nine:

The car ride was quiet. …I wasn't sure what to say to her, and she didn't seem to think there was anything that needed to be said to me.

The thing was… Sara had never told me outright that she didn't want me… not before she got married and not while married. Never. …I knew that part of it was the stress over Ayla missing that was influencing her, but part of it was her anger over my mistakes. …It wouldn't be good to rehash all of that right now, but when we found Ayla… I needed to explain some of my reasons. …I needed to try to get her back. If nothing else, this trip had called the bluff I'd been trying to pull over myself since I stopped talking to her—that I could live without her.

Inside the lab, Mark Foster was waiting for me. A glance at Sara beside me and he groaned. "Ah, hell, Gil, what are you doing?"

"…She's a CSI, and you know you don't believe she's guilty. What's the news on the prints?"

He sighed. "Follow me."

So with a surprised glance between us, Sara and I followed the lab director back through the long hallways, ending in the print lab. "Well, as long as you're here, Mrs. Wendt, maybe you can tell me if you recognize the man… Is there any reason his fingerprints should be in Ayla's room?"

I frowned—his tone implied that he thought the man might be one of Sara's lovers. Whether she'd had an affair with me or not, she was not a promiscuous woman. I knew that… I had always known that, but just the thought… I'd been so afraid…

Sara, however, didn't seem fazed. She rolled her eyes and bent down to look closely at the computer screen, her mouth already opening to tell him that no, she did not know the man and why wasn't he already in custody… but she gasped instead. "Oh my god! I do know him! Jace hired him to paint the outside of the house and stain the decks… a week or two ago?"

Mark nodded. "Was Ayla's window open while he painted… could he have braced his hand against the frame?"

"I… I don't know. It's… possible. During that same time I pulled all the screens off to scrub them down, because if the outside of the house was going to look so fresh and nice, I didn't want dusty screens ruining it… I went and scrubbed all the windows outside a few days after he finished…"

"Well, we've already sent a team to his house with a warrant, so I guess we'll see what he has to say…"

I breathed a sigh of relief. I didn't believe for a minute that his prints would still be there two weeks later the way that Sara cleaned. He'd obviously scoped the house and realized that from Jace's vehicles and private driver, they made a hell of a lot more money than the house implied… he figured he'd take the baby, Jace would pay up, and he'd give her back… no harm, no foul. …He hadn't expected Sara to freak and call the police, and he probably hadn't expected them to respond in full force the way they had.

…Then I looked more closely at the suspect in question.

I glanced at the man in question—Joseph Biani. He looked… non-descript. A Caucasian male in his mid-thirties. His prints weren't even on file for a previous crime… He'd worked in the Mayor's Office filing documents. They apparently required fingerprints and a background check with an application. I frowned. "Sara… Maybe you should listen to the undistorted voice on the ransom tape… see if it's him. He just… people don't usually jump to kidnapping as a first offense." I frowned at the man's picture. Something didn't feel right.

Sara glanced between me and Mark, and Mark sighed in exasperation. "Why not? We've crossed every other line, today, haven't we?" He threw his hands in the arm, but led the way back to the AV lab anyway. We followed him out again, and this time I took Sara's hand.

"…Are you okay?"

She nodded, shakily, and kept her hand in mine. "Yeah… I just… I can't believe this. I remember talking to him… thinking 'What a nice guy…' I… I just don't… Why would he do this to us?"

I frowned. I didn't think he had… or, if he had, he was the voice on the recording, not the sound in the background. He was the hired help… but even that seemed wrong. Why does a respectable guy with no priors who worked for the Mayor's Office for years suddenly agree to kidnap a baby? …The question is usually in the answer: He doesn't. Not out of the blue.

"…Let's just see what you hear, okay?"

She squeezed my hand, nodding meekly, and I squeezed it back, happy to be offering some small amount of comfort to her finally. I needed to give it as much as she needed to receive it…

The same AV tech was there and when Mark had him play the message, tears filled Sara's eyes. "…That's him. …It is. Oh god! I… gave the guy lemonade! I… I was so worried about how hot it was outside and…" She blinked furiously, hugging her arms tightly to her chest. "…But we've got him now! We've got his ass and we'll have Ayla home soon!"

I laid a hesitant hand on her shoulder, not wanting her to get her hopes up only to have them crushed. "…Honey, listen to me…" She turned and looked at me, her eyes not comprehending why there was no sign of victory in mine. "…This man… he's not the mastermind. All you have to do is listen to the way his voice is shaking to know that. …Even if they find him, Sara… chances are that Ayla isn't with him anymore."

The tears welled up again. "What… why are you saying this? We've almost found her, Gil! Why don't you want her to be found?"

I frowned, framing her face in my palms. "Sara… honey, you have to calm down. …You're a CSI. …You're a damn good one. Right?"

She drew in a deep breath, swallowing and nodding. "R-right."

"…Listen to his voice. …He's nervous, trembling… he might be an accomplice, but he isn't our guy…"

The AV tech in the backwards baseball cap was apparently listening, because the undoctored voice played in our headphones at that moment. …She heard it too, and understanding dawned in her eyes at the same time as remorse. "So… we're not any closer to finding her."

"That's not true… When they bring him in, he can give us some information. …My gut tells me he isn't doing this freely. We can offer him protection to give up his boss… something." I stared into her eyes, trying to give her all the strength and reassurance I had and picked up the almost imperceptible increase in her breathing at the intensity of our gazes. I opened my mouth without knowing what I intended to say—I love you, I'm sorry, I'm a fucking idiot…

"Do you want her to hear the noise?" The AV tech asked, bringing both of us back to the moment with a little surprise. Our eyes averted, the gaze broken, and my hands slid from her face.

"Yeah… Go ahead."

He played it looped again, and though Sara's eyes narrowed and she leaned forward in her seat, eagerly willing her mind to identify the ffpt! click. After a long minute, though, she sat back and shook her head. "…I don't know… I feel like I should. Like it's a common sound, but…"

I nodded. "I thought the same thing…"

Her phone rang then and she cursed softly, pulling it out. "It's Jace…" She pulled off her headphones and flipped the device open, standing up and moving into the hallway to answer it. "…Hello?" The door closed behind her, blocking the rest of the conversation. Mark turned to me, apparently not caring that baseball-cap-wearing-AV-tech was privy to his words.

"…Affair's over, huh?"

I looked at him. "…Just because it's over doesn't mean it should be. …It's hardly the time to have a talk about what tore us apart…"

He shook his head. "If I find out you've been fucking me around, Gil, I'm not taking the fall for your involvement… Everything will fall on you."

I rolled my eyes, standing up and moving to leave the room. "Dually noted."

I slid into the hall as she was hanging up. She glanced at me with a frown on her face. "…Things are about to get complicated."

"Why?" I let a hand fall onto the small of her back, guiding her down the hall, away from the labs and the prying eyes and ears.

"Jace's mom wanted to fly out right away. Thankfully his new company has a massive board of directors—they've got private jets all over the country they were willing to sacrifice for this. …She had to drive into New York—they live outside the city—to be able to catch a flight… but apparently she'll be here in a little over an hour."

"Does she know about me?"

Sara snorted. "No. She doesn't know anything. Jace won't tell her because he knows she'd be disappointed in him, but I haven't either, because no matter how much she might disapprove, she's always going to side with him. …None of his family members could be considered allies…"

I frowned. "So… we're going to have some explaining to do?"

She shook her head. "The bitch can go fuck herself. I'm really not up to explaining myself to her when Ayla's missing… Maybe I'll care what the old hag thinks once she's home safely, but…"

I nodded. She sighed. "Jace is getting impatient… he wants me to come back to be available to answer the phone so he can try to come up with the money. Just in case."

I frowned, but the truth was that it couldn't hurt to leave that option open. "Okay… Do you… do you mind if I stay here? I… I want to watch the interrogation."

"Yeah. Of course. …I want you to make sure they don't miss anything. …Make any deal you have to to get Ayla home to me."

"I will." I promised. "…Let me walk you out to the car."

She nodded and we turned, but didn't get any farther—Mark yelled down the hall. "Gil!" I turned in time to see him rushing over to me, cell phone in hand. "They found Joseph Biani…"

I heard Sara gasp as my breath caught in my throat. "Are they bringing him in?"

He swallowed. "…No. He, uh… he's been murdered. …We've got a team heading to the scene now. Do you want to go?"

I hesitated and glanced at Sara, who was looking at Mark. "…If he was cooperating under duress… You find who killed him, you find who has Ayla…"

He nodded. "…That's our hope."

I shook my head. "I'm going to go with Sara—whoever this is, he's too smart to have left something behind. …Your guys can process… I want to be there when he calls to give us the drop off site."

He nodded, turning without another word, and Sara and I simply exchanged a glance and moved to head out the doors. She moved closer to me and I closed the gap between us, putting an arm around her to offer comfort. She sighed. "…God, I could go for a smoke right now."

I frowned, glancing down at her. "I didn't think you still smoked…"

She shook her head. "I haven't for years… I don't know what it is. Even when I thought I was going crazy, I didn't want one this bad… but, you know, losing her is a lot more stressful than the thought of losing my mind…"

I nodded, opening the back seat and guiding her in before moving inside with her, staying close to her side, while she told the driver to take us back to the house, please. I sighed heavily and she glanced up at me, looking so very tired… like she was only a moment from collapse, keeping herself going by sheer will alone. "So…" Her voice was tired too… weak. "Are you ready to meet my mother in law?"

I offered a false half-smile in return, matching hers, both of us aware that we were only putting up the front because it was necessary. If you acknowledged how hopeless you felt… if you addressed the fact that the other person didn't really believe the smiles you were forcing for their sake… you would simply despair. You would lose all hope and completely fall apart. ...For Ayla, we had to keep it together, so we faked optimism, pressing up against each other in the back seat, despite the heat of the day, seeking comfort.