Author's Note: I struggled with this chapter so I hope it turned out okay.
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
He gently laid her down on their bed and stood back to look at her, taking her in. She was the most beautiful thing he had ever laid his eyes on. He didn't know how he had ever lived without her. In his fifty years, he had never seen anything else like her. He could not remember a time when he hadn't loved her. He laid down on the bed beside her and slowly pulled her shirt up to reveal her slightly rounded stomach, wondering how he hadn't noticed the change before now. He gently ran his hand over her skin in astonishment.
"Griss?" Sara watched him as she rubbed the back of his neck.
"Our baby." Grissom whispered, leaning down and kissing her stomach. "I love you already little one."
Sara felt tears stream down her face as she watched her husband. He was mesmerized as he continued touching and kissing her stomach. He whispered his love for her into her skin over and over. He spent the rest of the night worshiping her.
The world fell out from under him as Grissom stared at the scene before him. Sara couldn't be gone. They were starting a family. He kept thinking this was all just a bad dream and he needed to wake up. He just needed to wake up and she would be safe in their bed beside him. Then he felt himself falling and he knew it wasn't a dream.
"Gil!" Catherine cried, running toward him as Grissom's knees hit the pavement.
"Nicky. What happened?" Warrick asked in a rush, the fear evident in his voice.
"She didn't feel good." Nick sniffed, swiping at his eyes angrily. "She said she just needed some air and told me to go on in and she would be right behind me. When she didn't come in after about ten minutes, I came out to check on her and she wasn't here. I looked everywhere for her. She was just gone!"
"How long has she been gone?" Grissom finally spoke, his hollow voice sounding foreign to his own ears.
"Nick called me as soon as he realized Sara was missing." Brass answered, trying to keep his emotions in check.
"HOW LONG?" Grissom yelled, startling all of them.
"At least an hour, maybe longer." Brass answered. "I waited to call you until I knew for sure."
Grissom finally lost it and broke down in tears. None of them had ever seen Gil Grissom cry in all the years they had known him. Catherine wrapped her arms around him, trying to console her friend as loud sobs wracked his body.
"We're going to find her, Gil." Catherine whispered as he continued to sob. "We're going to find Sara."
"I'm calling Ecklie." Brass pulled his phone out.
"Why the hell are you calling Ecklie?" Warrick questioned with an edge to his voice.
"This is an active crime scene." Brass replied as if the answer wasn't already clear enough. "If we're going to have any chance of finding Sara, and soon, it needs to be worked now."
"We're already here." Warrick argued. "We can work it."
"No, you can't!" Brass argued back. "We're all too close to this. We need someone who-"
"You mean someone who doesn't care about Sara!" Nick cried.
"We can't touch this and you all know it!" Brass almost yelled. "Grissom knows it. We need someone objective."
"Call Ecklie." Grissom said as wiped his eyes and stood up.
Brass walked off as he spoke into his phone, quickly relaying the situation to Ecklie. Grissom again looked at the scene before him and he wanted to throw up. He never imagined that he would ever hear the words missing and crime scene related to his wife, his Sara.
"Ecklie's on his way." Brass closed his phone as he walked back over to the group. "He's pulling in swing for this. Top priority."
"I should have made her stay home." Grissom swallowed as he continued to stare blankly at the back of the SUV. "She was sick. She should have been home resting."
"Gil, you know Sara." Catherine touched his arm.
"I should have stayed with her." Nick hung his head.
"This is my fault." Grissom choked on his words. "I sent her here."
"This isn't your fault, Griss." Warrick spoke up. "Or yours, Nicky. The only person who's responsible is the person who took Sara."
Brass and Catherine exchanged looks as they watched Grissom. He was rooted to the ground, not taking his eyes from Sara's Denali. Brass cleared his throat and motioned his head for Catherine to follow him.
"Somebody needs to be with him at all times." Brass murmured as he and Catherine stepped away from the group. "He doesn't need to be alone."
"I've never seen him like this, Jim. He's near catatonic." Catherine replied wearily. "If something happens to Sara…"
"Let's not even go there." Brass stopped her. "We'll find her. We have to."
When Sara finally awoke, she felt like she had been hit by a bus. She had an awful pounding in her head and her mouth felt like sandpaper. She opened her eyes to complete darkness. She was disoriented and struggled to piece together what had happened after she and Nick arrived at the gas station. All she knew was that she was in a dark room somewhere and her arms and legs were bound. The door opened, blinding her with bright light as a tall figure approached her.
"Hello, Sara." A man's voice broke the silence.
"Wh-who are you?" Sara rasped. "Where am I?"
"All in due time." The man replied as he approached her. He bent down and pulled her phone from the clip attached to her jeans. He flipped the phone open as he walked out of the room, Sara yelling behind him as he closed the door.
Grissom was still standing beside of Sara's Denali with Catherine at his side as they watched Ecklie pull into the gas station parking lot. Grissom hadn't spoken a word to anyone in the last half hour. His mind was too focused on Sara to attempt any sort of conversation. He knew he would have to say something though when Ecklie approached him.
"Gil." Ecklie nodded in greeting. "I just want you to know that we're going to do everything we can to find Sara. This is our top priority."
"Thank you, Conrad." Grissom finally spoke, his voice breaking.
"Is there anything you can tell me, Gil?" Ecklie asked, getting right to the point. "Has anything odd happened lately or has Sara ever mentioned anyone following her?"
"No." Grissom shook his head. "Nothing out of the ordinary has happened."
"Once we're finished processing the scene, we're going to need access to your house." Ecklie shifted into investigative mode. "You know the procedure."
"Yes, Conrad." Grissom grunted. "Whatever you need to do, do it. Just keep me updated on anything you find."
Ecklie nodded again and made his way to the back of the SUV, followed by several members of swing shift. Grissom wanted to work the scene but he knew he couldn't. He just wanted Sara back and safe in his arms.
"I know you're not a fan of Ecklie, but he's our best shot right now." Catherine spoke up from beside him.
"Yes, I know." Grissom sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. He could feel the pain building behind his eyes. He really could not afford to deal with a migraine right now. Catherine saw him wince.
"Migraine?" She asked, concern in her voice.
"It seems the world has a cruel sense of humor today." Grissom huffed.
"Do you have any meds?" Catherine eyed him.
"In my truck." Grissom groaned. "I'll be right back."
He trudged toward his Denali when his phone started ringing. He stared at the phone on his hip in confusion. Anyone who would be trying to contact him was already at the scene except for Greg and… He fumbled for his phone, checking the caller ID before flipping it open and bringing it to his ear.
"Sara?" Grissom cried into the phone, only hearing silence. "Sara, honey are you there? Are you okay?"
Catherine heard him cry Sara's name and ran over to him. She stopped when she saw the look on Grissom's face.
"Hello Dr. Grissom." A man's voice spoke from the other end of the phone.
"Where's Sara?" Grissom growled.
"Don't worry. Sara's fine, for now." The man answered.
"Who are you?" Grissom spoke through clenched teeth. "What do you want?"
"Don't you remember me, Dr. Grissom?" The man sounded disappointed. "Your Sara reminds me so much of my sweet Debbie."
Grissom instantly froze. He knew exactly who was on the other end of Sara's phone.