Sara was on her way back to the lab about an hour later when Sofia called.

She put her phone on speaker and kept driving. "Hey, Sofia – you and Gris on the way back?"

There was a pause before Sofia's voice came over the line, a bit breathless. "Sara, have you talked to Grissom since we left the station?"

"Yeah, he called me a bit ago, why?"

"What's 'a bit' ago – thirty minutes – an hour?"

Sara glanced at the clock on her dashboard. "About thirty I'd say – maybe a bit more – why?"

"Did he tell you I broke away to respond to a robbery in progress?"

"Yeah, and he said he was walking down to Mama Casita's -" Sara's internal alarm was going off as she pulled over onto the shoulder of the highway. "What's wrong – where's Gil?"

"I don't know. I went to Mama Casita's to pick him up – but the waitstaff haven't seen him. I back tracked to where we parted ways and –"

"What? Sofia, tell me."

"Sara, I found his cell phone on the sidewalk, with the screen smashed in, and a barb from a taser gun."

Sara eyes fluttered shut. "There wasn't any blood or-"

"No – no signs of a struggle or blood or anything else. I've called it in to the station and Brass has issued an APB – but I wanted you to hear the news from me first."

Sara swallowed the bile that rose in her throat, as her stomach rolled over and all the food she had eaten that day threatened to come back up. Fighting off the nausea, Sara took a couple of deep breaths. "Should I drive over there?"

"There's nothing you can do here – I'm scouring the area for surveillance cameras but we're on the edge of an industrial area and most of the cameras are inside the businesses, not outside."

Sara bit her lip as she felt the tears form behind her eyes.

Sofia continued. "I promise I'll call you with any updates – right now just keep working on finding Natalie-"

"How can I do that? She's probably the one that took him!"

"Grissom can take care of himself – we'll find him."

Sofia disconnected the call as Sara's stomach rolled over again. Sara opened the door just in time as she threw up on the side of the road. Wiping her mouth with the back of her hand, she slammed the door shut and leaned wearily against the headrest. All this time, the team had been worrying about Natalie killing someone else. It had never crossed their minds that she would kidnap one of them.

"Sara!"

She turned as Greg shouted her name from the layout room.

"Have you heard about Grissom?"

She nodded as she entered the room to find everyone staring at a large brown package on the table. "Sofia called me – what's that?"

"It just arrived – and it's addressed to you," Nick nodded at her and pointed at the box.

"You could have opened it-"

"Opening someone else's mail is a federal offense," Greg argued, shaking his head.

"I think we have bigger things to worry about right now," Sara snapped as she put on a pair of latex gloves. "Like finding Natalie Davis."

"She's right," Catherine agreed. "But since we knew you were on your way back, we just decided to wait for you, Sara."

Sara grunted as she slit the top of the box open and peered inside. "It's another miniature."

"I bet you're glad we waited," Warrick smiled at her as she lifted it out of the box.

This miniature was unlike the others – it wasn't a building or factory scene. It was an overturned wrecked red mustang sitting in the middle of desert sands. There was a moving hand clawing at the sand from underneath the car – but the only visible part was the arm up to the shoulder, so it was impossible to tell who the figure was meant to represent.

Sara frowned. "This car looks familiar."

"I can see the VIN number – I'll run it," Greg volunteered as he scribbled it on a pad of paper and stepped away to the computer in the corner.

"Who's under the car?" Nick wanted to know.

The ball of anxiety was growing bigger inside of Sara as she reached out and lifted the car up, revealing a tiny doll dressed in CSI vest and pants, face down in the sand. Her breath caught in her throat as she turned the figure over and revealed the name tag on the vest that read: 'Grissom'.

Catherine gasped. "Oh my God."

Sara wobbled on her feet and Warrick slung an arm around her waist. "Easy, baby girl."

"Well, he's not dead. His hand is moving -" Nick pointed out.

"Yeah, but how much time does he have left? Natalie is a pyscho!"

"Guys!" Catherine shouted, interrupting them as she glanced at Sara in concern. "You're not helping. Sara, you ok?"

Sara nodded weakly as Greg gave a victory whoop from the computer. Everyone moved to look over his shoulders.

"This vehicle was in an accident that Grissom was a witness to a few weeks ago – and you helped him process the scene, Sara – you remember that?"

She snapped her fingers. "Of course – here, move over." She bumped his hip with hers and Greg moved aside as she clicked on the crime scene photos, flipping through them, stopping on the shots she had taken of the crowd. "There! That's Natalie!"

Warrick whistled. "Whoa! She was there?"

Sara nodded. "She must have been following Gris – or both of us."

Catherine snorted. "Obsessed much?"

"But why? Gris didn't do anything to her-" Greg argued.

Sara shook her head. "Oh yes, he did. From her twisted view of reality, Gil took her father away, the only man she ever loved. And now she's going to do the same thing to me-"

"What did you say?"

Everyone's head swiveled to see Conrad Ecklie standing in the doorway, his face slack with shock. They all watched as his face went from white to red, and he stomped inside, his eyes darting from one face to the other.

"Sidle, could I have a word with you, please?"

Gil woke up as the car hit a pothole, and his head bounced off the trunk lid, and then the floor of the car, and he saw stars for a few seconds. There was a raging headache going on behind his right eye and he wished more than anything that he had one of his migraine pills in his pockets, but the only thing in them was a large handkerchief and his pocketknife, if his assailant hadn't confiscated it.

He knew that the young woman who had taken him was Natalie. He just couldn't believe that he had let her get close, that his guard had been lowered enough to let her approach him and take him out. When he was younger, he had practiced the art of self defense and had even taken some classes in martial art – not that he was flexible enough to perform the necessary actions to fend off an assailant anymore. But he remembered enough not to let someone get too close. He had been lost in thought, thinking about Sara and their child and their future together. He hadn't been focusing on the problem of Natalie and the fact that she was out there somewhere and a very real and present danger.

He hadn't even considered the idea that she would come after him.

But he should have.

He should have anticipated that in Natalie's mind, in her perception of reality, she would blame him for Ernie's death – and that he must pay for that with his life. Grissom had taken the life of her father, of the only man who loved her unconditionally – no one had ever loved her like that before Ernie and no one ever would now that he was gone.

He had to find a way out of here – before the car stopped and Natalie arrived at wherever she was taking him. It took a lot of time and maneuvering around but he was finally able to reach into his pocket, and he found that Natalie hadn't taken the time to search him after all. He knew that the tiny blades of his knife wouldn't be strong enough to cut through the zip ties in one motion, so he settled in to patiently saw through them.

His hands flew apart when the zip ties finally gave way and Gil rolled to his back, massaging his hands, taking more precious time to get feeling and circulation into the fingers. He rolled over and ever so slowly lowered the back seat an inch so he could peer into the car and see what Natalie was doing.

Suddenly he was thrown against the back seat as the car came to stop. He heard the sound of car doors opening and closing, and then the back seat was pulled down from the inside and he was looking down the barrel of a gun, into Natalie's hard eyes.

"Hello, Dr. Grissom. I've been waiting for you to wake up. Why don't you come join me inside the car."

Sara followed Ecklie to his office, where he closed his door, but not before Catherine slipped inside.

"This is a private meeting, Catherine."

"Cut the crap, Conrad. Gil is missing. Now isn't the time to be pulling us one at a time into your office and interrogating us – we need to be out looking for him-"

"I agree – I just have a couple of questions for Ms. Sidle first."

While they were facing off, Sara had gone over to the couch and flopped down on it. She honestly didn't know how much longer she could hold it together. Gil was missing – she might be pregnant with his child – he might already be dead –

"Sara?"

She looked up suddenly, Ecklie's voice breaking through her stream of negative thoughts. "What?"

"Are you in a relationship with Grissom?"

Sara opened her mouth to reply, but then shut it. She knew that however she responded, it would affect her career. She could lie, but if she was pregnant, the truth would definitely need to be told sooner rather than later. She could tell the truth, and screw both of their careers here and now – but then everything would finally be out in the open.

"We've always had a relationship."

Catherine smirked behind Ecklie's back as the man rolled his eyes at her answer. "That's not what I mean, and you know it, Sidle. I want to know what I overheard when I passed the layout room. Something about Gil being the only man you ever loved-" his eyebrows rose in a question.

"Oh please, Conrad!" Catherine sputtered "You think Sara would make a declaration like that in front of all of us? You misheard her – she said that Natalie was taking revenge on Grissom because he was the man that all of us love –"

Conrad rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "That true, Sara?"

Sara nodded, too overwhelmed by this narrow escape Catherine provided to speak.

"Well then, get out of here and find him."

Catherine grabbed Sara's hand, dragging her to her feet and out the door. Neither woman spoke until they were in Catherine's office with the door shut.

"I can't believe you did that – thank you, Catherine," Sara whispered as she collapsed in a chair and buried her face in her hands.

"Hey hey, don't go losing it now, ok? He's still watching us and you're no good to Gil if you fall to pieces-"

"I know – I guess it's the hormones."

Catherine smiled as she sat across from the brunette. "Sara – are you pregnant?"

She lifted her head and stared at her friend through teary eyes. "Maybe – I don't know – and I don't want to know until -" she paused and swallowed the emotion in her throat.

Catherine took one of Sara's hands in hers and squeezed. "Then let's bring Gil home."

"Why are you doing this?"

Natalie's eyes darted to meet Gil's in the rearview mirror. She had placed new zip ties on his wrists and put him on the floor in the back seat and resumed driving to some unknown destination. Before they had set out, she had offered him some water and even though he had been leery to drink it, he allowed himself a few small sips to prevent dehydration.

Natalie was silent for so long that he didn't think she'd answer him, but after a few minutes, she whispered, "My father."

Gil decided to push her a bit. "Christopher?"

Anger flashed in Natalie's eyes. "He wasn't my father-"

"He was your birth father – he raised you for the first five years of your life-"

"He never loved me – not like he loved-" she bit her lip and returned her eyes to the road.

"Not like he loved Chloe?"

She banged a hand on the steering wheel. "Don't say her name! I don't want to talk about her!"

"Why? Don't you miss her?"

"I miss my father."

"Ernie."

A smile flitted across Natalie's face. "Yes. I was his special girl."

Gil yawned. "You loved him."

"I still do."

A wave of drowsiness came over Gil and he realized that he was right to have been suspicious of the water. "Natalie – why did you take me-"

She giggled. "You really don't know? I wanted to make her hurt – for her to feel the pain I felt when you took my father away from me."

He frowned. "Sara?"

"I know you love her."

"I do – very much."

She shook her head. "She doesn't love you as much as I loved my father."

"The water – why-" the car was growing darker as he felt himself slipping into unconsciousness. "What did you-"

"Good night, Dr. Grissom."

"Jim! I came as soon as I got your page – what is it?"

"We found Raymont – the last of the 'fab four' as Mitch calls them."

Sara stopped and stared at him. "How? Where?"

Brass explained. "Well, we put out an APB on him and I have had cops combing the streets looking for dealers and addicts that match his general description. We got lucky. Picked him up an hour ago outside a seedy motel on Grover, pushing drugs and a couple of girls. Real charmer."

"Is he high?"

"I'd say he's coming off it, about ready for a fix, which makes him ready to talk so he can get released and go back to his stash."

"Then let's see what he has to say."

Raymont was wire thin – so skinny that if someone looked at him sideways, he could be mistaken for a slice of cheese that could be spread on two crackers. He had a nervous twitch that Sara didn't know if it came from his drug habit or if it was part of his genetic code. His hair was raven black, as were his eyes, and his skin was ghostly white. His arms had countless needle tracks and Sara knew that if he were to remove his shoes, that they would find more tracks between his toes.

"Raymont Davis?" Sara asked as she slid into her seat at the table.

He twitched in his seat, his knee bouncing under the tabletop. "Shit, I haven't been called that since I was fifteen. Name's RD."

"All right, RD. We'd like to ask you a few questions about your foster sister, Natalie-"

RD's knee quit dancing. "Nat? Why? She in some sort of trouble?"

Sara kept her poker face intact. "Maybe. When was the last time you saw Nat?"

RD shrugged. "A couple of weeks ago."

"You still keep in touch?"

"Nat's a good girl – she's always trying to help me out – you know, buy me some decent clothes, a hot meal – she's tried to get me to go to one of those drug programs, but I think she's given up. They're not for me."

Sara chose not to comment on the drug rehab. "So, a few weeks ago – you can't narrow it down any more than that?"

"Why should I?"

Sara tried a different approach. "Do you know where your sister lives?"

RD was instantly wary. "I might – but why would I tell the LVPD?"

Brass spoke up for the first time. "How about if you don't, we'll arrest you for multiple counts of possession and prostitution? You're not a minor anymore, RD. I'll make sure these charges stick and you'll go away for a few years this time-"

"All right, all right- no need to get nasty. It's not like we're close or anything – and if she is in trouble – well, I guess, she can take care of herself, right?"

Sara nodded. "Address?"

Gil awoke to the sound of a machine – but he couldn't place the sound at first. He opened his eyes and found himself staring into darkness, below him the coolness of desert sand. He raised his head and saw that he was underneath a car.

"NO! Stop!" he yelled as he saw feet come around the side of the car and then he looked up into Natalie's eyes. "Don't do this!"

She didn't answer him, just watched with wide eyes as the machine noise got louder and the car lowered on top of him, pinning him to the earth. One of Gil's arms was stretched out in front of him, and he screamed in pain as it was pinned beneath the frame of the wrecked car. His other arm was trapped beneath his body, useless.

He could no longer see her face, but he watched her boots as she paced along the side of the car for a minute and then she walked away, leaving him clawing at the desert sands with his one hand. The movement was futile as it did nothing to free him, and he felt absolutely alone.

He was going to die out here without ever knowing if he had fathered a child.

I'm sorry, Sara.