Time was moving excruciatingly slow as rescue crews tried to evaluate the best way to reach Nick and Sara. They'd only had muffled voice contact with them through the rubble, and every so often, they'd yell down to make sure they were still ok. The problem was, to reach them, they'd have to move a large portion of the house, or try and stabilize what was left before possibly cutting through the floor to reach them. If there was a single aftershock, or any settling of the debris during this process, things could become even more dangerous.

Grissom had taken up Warrick's pacing. He kept glancing at the rubble, his brow still furrowed. Catherine was on the phone, trying to rattle a few cages to see if they could bring in anything more by pulling strings with people she knew in the County Engineer's office. Warrick just sat there staring. Two of his closest friends were trapped under several tons of rubble and he didn't want to entertain the possibilities of what could happen. He just kept his eyes transfixed on the rescue workers, knowing in his heart somehow, they had to get out alive.

Footsteps sounded behind the trio and they all glanced up. A concerned Greg Sanders with bags of food in hand walked toward them. "I thought you might need something to eat."

Grissom's expression softened slightly. Greg was right, none of the three had thought to eat since the ordeal had started and none of them would be leaving until it was over. "Thanks, Greg."

Catherine was busy on the phone and Warrick just mumbled his thanks. Greg sat down on the ground next to him, staring at the rubble. "They're going to be ok. This is Nick and Sara. They're going to be ok."

Warrick glanced at him. "Yeah, they'll be ok." He wasn't sure he believed it, but maybe if they repeated it enough times, it would be true.

Catherine ended her call and looked directly at Grissom. "The County engineer is headed out here with a couple of structural engineers to see if they can offer a better perspective on this whole thing."

"Thanks." Grissom went back to pacing.

Catherine glanced at Greg. "Thanks for coming out here, Greg."

He looked up at her with a serious expression. "I couldn't just stay at the lab while they're in there. Besides, everything there is a big mess."

"Greg, what about the evidence?" Grissom was concerned that Greg leaving things in shambles might compromise a case.

Greg looked directly at him. "I made sure all the samples were secure before I left. All that's left is broken glass from test tubes."

Catherine shot Grissom a glare and he just shrugged his shoulders at her.

Warrick's patience snapped. "Why the hell aren't they doing anything?"

Catherine crouched down next to him and placed a hand on his arm. "Warrick, they're doing everything they can to get them out. It's just going to take time. We're all worried about them."

Warrick rested his face in his hands and nodded his head. "I know, Cath, I know."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The house creaked as a mild aftershock hit.

Sara screamed and Nick tried to shield her with his body as more debris fell. As it subsided, Nick took stock of the situation. The void was definitely a little smaller. They were running out of time.

Sara clung to him and started to cry. "We're going to die, Nick. I don't want to die."

"Shh, Sara, we're not going to die." He held her close and tried to soothe her frayed nerves with his voice while he rubbed her back. He was trying to soothe himself as well, because he was scared to death. "It's gonna be ok. They're gonna get us out of here and we'll be laughing about this by next week."

Sara continued to cry. She was absolutely petrified. She had never been one to enjoy enclosed spaces in the first place and the danger of the situation and what had happened to her grandmother only intensified her fear. "I don't want to die, Nick." She clutched the front of his coveralls with her fists.

"Hey, what's all this talk about dying? We're both too young to talk like this. Besides, I haven't gotten you to fall for the Stokes' charm yet." Nick tried to sound light hearted, but he felt anything but.

Sara wiped at her tears. "You have to promise me that you won't tell anyone that I fell apart if we get out of here." She knew that Nick was trying to get her to remain calm, something she was having a hard time doing.

"Promise." Nick could tell that she was trying to steel herself. "In fact, if you want, you can tell them that I was the one that fell apart."

Sara started to laugh again.

Nick was worried. Her emotions were a swinging pendulum. "So you didn't say anything about me trying to get you to fall for the Stokes' charm." He thought if he could get her to talk again, about anything that maybe she'd calm down a little bit. He was worried that if she didn't calm down soon, that she'd go into shock.

"Are you flirting with me?" She wiped her nose with her sleeve.

"Sure I am. What more could a guy want? Close quarters, a beautiful woman, snot on your sleeve." Nick teased. He was only half joking. He'd been attracted to Sara since the moment he met her. Outside of flirting though, he'd never made a move.

She chuckled. "I didn't seem to be able to find a Kleenex."

"Did I mention that you're resourceful?" Nick thought if they could keep talking, he could keep his mind off of the fear he felt building in the pit of his own stomach.

For the first time, Sara consciously realized that she wasn't the only one stuck under the rubble; that perhaps this ordeal might be getting to Nick as well. She loosened her hold on his coveralls and looked at his face. "Nick, how are you doing?"

He tried to keep up his brave front, but the fear in the pit of his stomach was getting worse. He let out a deep breath and fought the tears that threatened to form at the corners of his eyes. His chin quivered slightly as he answered her. "I'm scared, Sara."