Authors Note ;Please see chapter one for disclaimer and the legal stuff

The suspense is building and Grissom and the remainder of the team have practically convinced themselves Catherine and Jim have died in the inferno that used to be St Jude's Church.

Many thanks to the reviewers as always. Your comments are greatfully accepted and once again I thank you for giving a girl who's sweet on Brass the encouragement to continue with a Brass based fic.



NINETEEN

'I am NOT staying here while you play Tarzan and me play Jane!' Catherine stamped her foot on the damp ground. Jim squeezed himself further through the gap in the stone until only his shoulders,head and arms were left.

'Forget this modern independent woman crap just for a second and let me help you. Just do as I ask for once woman!' He shuffled a little more into the hole grabbing up his torch as he did so. Catherine opened and closed her mouth in shock but nothing came out except indignant grunts.

'I'll be back soon.' He disappeared into the dark.

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Grissom took a long drink from the water bottle Sara offered. Through a mixture of exhaustion and emotion he closed his eyes for a second and pictured the last time he had seen Catherine and Jim in the breakroom. She had made jokes about him and his visit to the 'bank' and vaguely wondered what had actually happened between them when he had gone into the cubicle. But they had been alive, tired yes, but there at CSI where they belonged, part of the team, part if HIS team. His friends. This feeling of loss bearing down on him, was more painful than anything he'd ever encountered.

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Brass caught his breath and dusted off his shirt and jeans. Before he could speak Catherine began smacking him about the back and shoulders.

'Where the...' Slap. 'Bloddy hell.....'Slap. 'Have you been?' She demanded. He put his hands up to defend himself and covered his head from her stinging blows.

'Hey, hey......' Jim took hold of her wrists and pulled her in close to his body. 'What the hell's wrong with you?'

'You've been gone nearly an hour!' Her eyes blazed at him in the torch light. 'I thought you'd left me.....idiot!'

'C'mon baby, are you for real? I'd never leave you.' Inhaling a deep breath Brass was heard to mutter 'Oh fu.....' before pressing his mouth against Catherine's in a long, deep embrace.

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The last of the shattered remains of the altar were dragged away and the scorched canopy was torn down revealing the long, wooden panelled wall at the back of the church where Brass's jacket had been discovered before the fire. Police search lights had been moved inside the church illuminating the darkened area that at that moment held the deep secret of Jim and Catherine's whereabouts.

'We've been covering this place for hours now, and still nothing,' whined Nick.

'We keep going until we find something,' said Warrick. 'No matter how long it takes.

'Er guys,' offered Sara, 'In case you missed it we have Brass's jacket and wallet and what's betting that's his cell phone too.'

'But we haven't got any evidence of bodies,' said Grissom silently coming up behind them. Sara held her chest and Nick flinched. 'If we have to stay here for weeks, we'll find them.'

'Hey Gris,' said Warrick. 'Take a look at this.' The CSI's huddled around the seared wood Brown pointed out. There was a hole burnt through the sixth panel measuring several inches in diameter. Grissom knelt and shone his torch through the hole.

'There appears to be a room behind here,' he explained. 'Wait a minute....there's fresh boot marks in the dust. Pass me a hammer Warrick.'

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'I cannot BELIEVE you kissed me like that!'Catherine's indignant tone made Jim blush slightly.

'Well it seemed like the right thing to do at that moment.' Brass grinned impishly, pleading his case with relish.

'The right thing to do is get us the hell out of here.'

'Well if you let me get a word in. God this is worse than being married.'

'Not a chance baby.'

'Alright, why you would never marry me or starting from the beginning, date me.?'

'Are you asking for a reason or proposing?'

'Asking.....for now.'

'We've been through this already. You're my friend. It's hard for me to think of you as anything else. You're also a colleague.I can't be attracted to someone I work alongside so closely.' Brass inhaled deeply and his eyes narrowed as they searched her face in the dim light. 'Quit looking at me like that would ya.'

'Like what?'

'Like I've just taken your last sweetie.'

'I've seen the way you look at Warrick and Grissom. Catherine, why don't you just kick me in the nuts and get it over with! '

'You asked. I answered......And I DO NOT look at thsoe boys in any other way than as friends........ But alright I'll admit ....You look okay in those jeans and that bit of scruff makes you look good..........and you're....you're not a bad kisser. Better than I imagined.....not that I've ever imagined it!'

Brass turned towards the opening once more, ignoring her last remark but smiling to himself.

'There's a way out of here,' he said climbing through the gap again.

'A way out?'

'Yeah, this passage comes out other side of the railway tracks. The Knight rescues the Damsel but gets no thanks from her after claiming his payment of a kiss. Instead he gets a knee jerk reaction to the groin!' He disappeared. Catherine held up her hands in resignation and followed him through the hole muttering,

'Just because I admitted you were alright with your lips doesn't mean we're gonna be picking out furniture or getting a dog or anything....And there's certainly gonna be no long, warm showers together.....Brass are you listening to me...........'

tbc........................