Thanks Lady Kes
Thanks for the reviews
Kes said to blame her for the delay, but you can blame real life. It took me a while to write and it took her a while to beta. The good news is it's almost over…just a couple more chapters.
Sara's Apartment
Grissom parked outside of Sara's building and turned the engine off. He quickly got out of the car and walked around to the passenger side. He opened the door and helped Sara out. She started to stagger to the building and seemed to be having a lot of trouble walking. Grissom, not wanting her to fall or anything, once again put his arm around her shoulder and walked her to her apartment. At her door, she fumbled with her keys, so he gently took them from her and unlocked her door. Leaving him standing in the doorway, she walked into her home and flipped on the light. She took her jacket off and threw it on a chair and then hoisted herself up on her kitchen counter. "You gonna come in, or are you going to stand in the hall all day?" she asked, some of the slur gone from her words.
Grissom entered her apartment and closed the door behind him. He walked over to stand a few feet in front of Sara and quietly looked around the place. He noticed that the place didn't seem to be lived in. It didn't have a homey feeling to it. It felt more like a pit stop—a place where one would go to eat, take a shower, change clothes, maybe even catch some sleep—before returning to the real place they called home. It was in that moment that Grissom realized just how much time Sara spent at the lab. She'd work doubles, triples, days off, holidays…she would always be the one to cover for someone. The lab was her home.
Sara broke his thoughts saying, "I know it's not the greatest of places, but it suits me just fine. I don't spend much time here anyway."
Grissom looked at her. "How can you spend much time anywhere when you're always at work?"
"You're one to talk," she huffed. "I'm rarely there when you aren't there. We both spend too much time at work."
"We should change that. We both need to get a life," he said, more to himself than to her.
"Not that speech again. If you're gonna start lecturing me, I need another drink."
He took a step closer to her. "No more lectures and no more drinks, Sara."
"No more lectures…I like that idea," she said, smiling at the thought of never having to hear another one of his speeches.
His lips twisted up a little and he said, "I thought you would."
Turning serious she asked, "Can I ask you something, Grissom?"
He swallowed nervously and nodded saying, "Sure. Go ahead."
"Why did you kiss me?"
He hadn't expected that question. Well, maybe he had expected that question, but he had hoped she wouldn't ask it. "I…well…because…you were…there…so close…and I just…couldn't resist you…I really wanted to…kiss you…so I did." That didn't come out as bad as I thought it would.
She hopped down off the counter and took a step closer to him. She had a mischievous smile on her face when she said, "I was so close you couldn't resist me, huh?" She took another step closer. "That's always good to know. Do you think you could resist me now?" she teased, taking another step towards him.
"Sara…" Their bodies were very close now.
"Come on, Grissom. You like experiments. So, let's experiment a little. Let's see what it'll take to get you to kiss me
again."
"If you weren't inebriated, I would be happy to experiment with you," he said, taking a step back. "You've been drinking and I don't think it would be a good idea to do anything like that. I'm sorry."
"Yeah, you sure are." She took another step forward and he took another step back.
Grissom eyed the door and thought about bolting. "Sara, we have a lot we need to talk about when you sober up."
"Like what?"
"I'd prefer to discuss it later."
"I'd prefer to discuss it now. If you're gonna say that kissing me was a mistake and that you regret it, I want to know now."
"No, it's nothing like that. I don't regret kissing you, Sara. It was something that I had wanted to do for a very long time."
"So, what do we need to talk about?" she asked, walking past him and through the living room. She leaned up against the wall next to the window, turning her back to him and looked outside.
He watched her. "We need to talk about…this…" Though he couldn't see much of her face, he saw her raise a brow. He continued, "…this thing between us."
"There's a thing between us?"
"Sara, please can we talk about this later? I want you clear headed when I talk to you."
"Grissom, come here," she said in a demanding voice...
"Sara…"
"Grissom, come here quick. There's some guy out there checking out your truck."
Grissom was by her side in a second. He looked out the window and saw the suspicious guy looking underneath his Tahoe. They watched the guy try every door, but they were all locked. "We should call the police," Grissom whispered to Sara, as if the guy could hear them.
"I think we need to call Mulder and Scully. This could be someone coming after us. Hey, it looks like he just put something underneath your fender." They watched as the mysterious man reached behind the front tire and seemed to be doing something. He fiddled around for a minute and then stood. He looked around carefully before pulling out his cell phone and walking away.
"Sara, call Agent Mulder right now. I'm going to go see what he did to my truck," Grissom said as he walked to the door.
Suddenly more sober, Sara said, "Grissom, do you think that's a good idea? He could have put a bomb under there. He could still be out there waiting for you to come out. What if he tries to do something to you? What if there is a bomb and I stand here and watch you get blown up right in front of me?"
"Then you'd finally be rid of me," he joked. The look on Sara's face told him this was no time for jokes.
"Grissom, I'm serious. Please don't go outside. Please just stay in here with me. If something happened to you and I saw it…I would just…it would kill me."
The fear he saw in her eyes made him rethink his decision. He nodded at her and returned to her side. He watched her as she placed the call to Mulder. She seemed calm, but as she ended her call he noticed her hands shaking. He took her phone from her and set it on the windowsill. He gently grabbed both her hands and turned her around to face him. She wasn't looking at him. She still had her eyes glued on the view outside. "Mulder and Scully should be here soon," she quietly informed him without looking at him.
"Sara, are you all right?"
"I'm-"
"Don't say you're fine," he cut her off.
She looked at him and gave him a small smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "I'm worried, Grissom. I really didn't think too much about our lives being in danger until now. And that feeling that something bad is gonna happen is still there."
He gently pulled her into a hug. She was a little shocked at first, but after a moment she wrapped her arms around him and rested her head on his shoulder. Whether he was toying with her emotions again or not didn't matter, right now she needed his comfort. She drew strength from his embrace and she burned this hug into her memory. He held her close and sighed into her hair, which caused shivers to run down her spine. He turned his head, bringing his lips close to her ear and whispered, "Sara, we're gonna be fine." She knew he was just talking about what was happening now, but she could also detect a deeper meaning in those words. We're gonna be fine, she told herself.
Sara held him a little tighter. "I hope so. I don't want anything to happen to us." It was Grissom's turn to detect a double meaning.
"Sara, I promise I won't let anything happen to you."
"What about you?"
"I was hoping you would protect me," he said.
She pulled her head back and smiled at him. He didn't return the smile. He was focused on how close their bodies were. His eyes were locked on hers and his control was rapidly fading away. Very slowly he moved his lips closer to hers. Just as his lips brushed hers there was a knock on the door. They both quickly stepped away from each other, like they were high school kids caught making out. There was another knock on the door and a muffled sounding, "Sidle, are you in there? Are you okay?"
Sara swiftly made her way to the door and opened it. "You guys got here quick. Come on in."
Mulder and Scully entered the apartment and stood looking at Sara expectantly. "So, what's going on? You said something about a guy messing with your car?" Mulder asked.
Sara told the agents what she and Grissom had witnessed. She gave him a description of the guy and asked him if he thought this might have something to do with his concerns for their safety. "I don't know if this guy was working for them. I'm gonna go have a little look at Grissom's truck and check around the building and parking lot," Mulder said as he made his way to the door.
Grissom started to follow him. "I'm coming with you. If we find any kind of evidence I want it handled properly."
"You're the expert." Mulder shrugged.
Mulder disappeared into the hall and just before Grissom closed the door he turned to Sara saying, "Sara, lock the door until we get back." She nodded and did just that.
==
Grissom and Mulder walked to Grissom's truck while discreetly scanning the lot. There seemed to be nothing suspicious going on. There were no people around, which wasn't such a strange thing since most people were at work at this time of day. The pair cautiously approached the vehicle. Grissom's heart rate had kicked up to about 300 beats a minute. Mulder, on the other hand, seemed to be totally calm and collected. "What did the guy mess with?" Mulder asked Grissom as the stood in front of the truck.
"Driver's side, underneath the front fender," Grissom answered.
Mulder pulled out his flashlight and crouched down next to the front tire. He couldn't see much so he decided to crawl underneath. He stood and took off his jacket, throwing it on the hood.
"What are you doing?" Grissom asked.
"I'm going to crawl underneath here and get a better look," Mulder replied.
"Are you sure that's a good idea? There could be a bomb under there."
"We'll never know if we don't look," he said. Kneeling down, he looked back at Grissom and said, "If there is a bomb under here and I do blow up, tell Scully I…" He shook his head. "Nothing. Never mind." He lay down on the ground and wiggled his way underneath the vehicle.
Grissom smirked as he watched the agent. He knew what Mulder wanted to say. If I die tell Scully I love her. It might have been what Grissom would have said to Mulder if he thought he might die. If I die tell Sara I love her. Wouldn't that just be fitting, he thought. The only way Sara would know that I love her was if someone else told her. Grissom's thoughts were broken as he heard Mulder say, "Ah-ha! I got it."
As Mulder crawled out from underneath the truck Grissom asked, "What did you find?"
Standing up, he held out one gloved hand, which held a small black electronic gadget. "A tracking device, I presume. Doesn't look much like a bomb."
"Why would they want to track me? I never go anywhere. I'm either at the lab, a crime scene or home."
"I don't know. Why don't we check the rest of the lot and the building and then we'll go back to Sidle and Scully and figure out what to do about this," Mulder suggested.
Grissom nodded. "Okay."
==
Meanwhile, back inside the apartment, Sara was nervously pacing back and forth in front of the window. She would stop every few minutes and look out the window and then resume pacing. "What is taking them so long?" Sara asked, frustrated.
"I'm sure they're fine. Knowing Mulder, they're probably checking every nook and cranny. He's very thorough," Scully said, trying to put Sara at ease.
They both fell silent again. Sara had stopped her pacing and stood staring out the window, with Scully right beside her. They heard a small creaking noise and turned to look at each other, sharing a worried look. They heard a louder creaking noise and turned in the direction it came from. Both froze as they saw a man wearing a ski mask, pointing a gun at them. "Well, if it isn't my lucky day. Sara Sidle and Dana Scully without their two big protectors around. I'm shocked they left you two here alone. Of course, I know you can both take care of yourselves. And Scully if that hand gets any closer to your gun, Sara dies," the man said.
Scully had slowly been inching her hand towards her weapon hoping that he wouldn't notice. No such luck though and she pulled her hand away putting it up in the air. "Who are you and what do you want?" Scully asked.
"You know what I want. I want what you found in Rachel. I want the proof that you and Mulder have hidden away."
"You want the proof so you can destroy it. That's not gonna happen this time, too many people already know."
"Who do you think you're trying to fool? You think I can't get to Robbins and Sanders? I got to the rest of you, didn't I? I know every move you've made from the beginning of this thing. You're all just pawns in a game. We set this all in motion. We knew exactly what you were going to do. The four of you teaming up…it was all part of the plan. We knew Mulder couldn't resist this and we knew that Sidle and Grissom would be too curious to not help you out. You're all so predictable. That's your problem. You can't just let things go."
"Who the hell are you?" Sara asked angrily.
"I'm the man who's going to help you expose the truth."
"Oh, now you're on our side? Just a few moments ago we were all predictable pawns in a game and now you're gonna help us?" Scully asked.
"I'm tired of being maneuvered. I'm tired of taking orders. I want the control and I want to destroy that black-lunged son of a bitch," he said. He reached one hand up and quickly took off his mask.
"Krycek…I should have known," Scully said.
"Wait, Krycek? Aren't you Chris Bezich, Catherine's new boyfriend?" Sara asked, very confused.
"I have a different name for each personality," he joked.
"Mulder was right; this was all just a big ploy. What did you hope to accomplish with all this?"
"He wanted to discredit you, to ruin you. Those bodies are real, but if we don't act quickly they'll be gone. I know there are other people working on this. I don't know everything he plans to do, but I do know that if we work together we can beat him."
"Why in the hell would we work with you?"
"Because I hate him just as much as you do. I want to see him broken before I kill him."
"You expect us to believe you? To trust you? After all these years, what makes you think we'd do that?"
"If you don't, you're all dead. You know I'm capable, Scully."
"You're a liar and a coward, Krycek. If you want to kill me then go ahead. No one's stopping you."
"Um…I might have a little problem with that," Sara cut in.
Krycek reached into his jacket and pulled out a bundle of rope. He tossed it over to Scully and said, "Tie Sara's hands behind her back." Scully hesitated and he cocked the gun. "I will kill you." Sara turned around and let Scully tie her hands.
"I'm sorry, Sara," she whispered.
"It's not your fault. You're not the lunatic with the gun," she responded in a low voice. Scully finished tying her and the two women turned to face Krycek once again.
"All right, both of you on the couch now."
After they were seated on the couch, he walked up behind them and pulled out a bottle of chloroform and a rag. Combining the two, he placed the rag over Scully's nose and mouth. She started to make noise, but was soon out cold. It had all happened so fast that Scully was already out before Sara realized what was going on. She turned fearful eyes to Krycek and asked, "What the hell are you doing? I thought you wanted to help."
"I am going to help. Sometimes these two need a little incentive. That's why you're coming with me."
"I'm not going anywhere with you."
"Okay, then. Do you want Grissom to die fast or maybe slow and painful? Because if you don't come with me, he's gonna die."
Sara swallowed hard and said, "Okay, fine. I'll go with you. I don't want anyone to get hurt."
"Don't worry. They won't leave you with the big, bad wolf for very long. I'm going to leave Mulder a little note and he'll find us soon." He placed an envelope on Scully's lap and walked over to Sara, pulling her up off the couch. "Now, we're gonna do this nice and easy. We're gonna walk out of here quietly. If you try to run, or yell for help, anything like that and your friends will die…starting with Grissom. You understand?"
Sara nodded. He put his gun in his belt and led Sara to the door. He opened the door and poked his head out, looking down the hall both ways. "The coast is clear. Let's get out of here before the boys come back." He led Sara to the stairs and down and out of the building. Grissom and Mulder were nowhere to be seen, so he pushed Sara into his car and they were out of there in a second.
==
After completing their search of the parking lot and building and finding nothing, Grissom and Mulder decided to return to Sara's apartment. They were both a little relieved that the only thing they had found was a tracking device. Halfway down the hall to Sara's door Mulder stopped walking and reached for his gun. Grissom shot him a curious look, but when he looked back towards Sara's door he noticed that it was open. A sense of dread flowed through him and he suddenly wished that he had his weapon on him. Mulder motioned for Grissom to walk behind him as he cautiously approached the open door. As much as Grissom wanted to rush into Sara's apartment to make sure she was okay, he knew to let the man with the gun enter before him. If something had happened to Sara, he would be no good to her if he had been shot or injured in some way.
Grissom waited to one side of the door while Mulder entered the apartment. He was waiting for Mulder to give him the okay to go in. Mulder had barely made it in when Grissom heard, "Oh, shit!" Grissom rushed in and found Mulder leaning over Scully. He was anxiously trying to wake her. "Come on, Scully. Come back to me."
Grissom quickly looked around the room. "Where's Sara?"
"I don't know," Mulder replied, still trying to wake his partner.
Grissom's heart rate increased instantly. He quickly searched the rest of the apartment, but Sara was not there. This is not good. God, Sara, where are you? Grissom made his way to the couch just in time to see Scully coming around. He noticed an envelope on her lap and asked, "Agent Mulder, what's that?"
Mulder looked down and went to grab the envelope, but pulled his hand back when Grissom let out a desperate, "No!"
Grissom reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a pair of latex gloves. He slipped on the gloves and picked up the envelope. He carried it over to the kitchen counter and set it down. He let out a sigh before he gently opened it. He pulled out a piece of paper with a note on it. His face showed his anguish as he read the note.
I have Sidle. If you want her back, you'll have to come and get her. Don't come empty handed. You know what I want. If you take too long, she dies. If you call in the cavalry, she dies. If you try to pull any tricks, she dies. The three of you-no one else. There's a group of mailboxes on the north side of Lake Berryessa in California. There will be instructions for you underneath the last box on the left side. I'll give you until midnight to find me and then…well, you know what will happen if you don't get here in time.
Grissom let the note fall from his hand. He stood staring at the piece of paper not really seeing it. He never thought that he would be capable of murder, but the thought of killing the person who had Sara was on his mind. I shouldn't have left her. How could I let this happen?
Across the room, Mulder was still trying to get Scully fully awake. She would open her eyes for a second and close them again. Finally, she opened them and kept them open. "Scully, are you all right?" Mulder asked softly.
"I'm fine," she answered.
"What happened here?"
Suddenly remembering what had happened, she sat up a little straighter and looked around worriedly. "Where's Sara?" she asked.
"We were hoping you would tell us that."
Scully thought for a moment and said, "Krycek."
"Krycek? Are you sure, Scully?"
"Yeah. Sara and I were looking out the window when we heard a sound. We turned around and there was a guy wearing a mask standing there holding a gun on us." She pointed in the direction of Sara's bedroom door. "He said this was all a set up…that the four of us teaming up was all part of the plan. You were right, Mulder."
"This is no time for I told you so, Scully."
"He said he wanted to help us expose the truth, that he was tired of taking orders and that he wanted to destroy Cancer Man."
"So, he took Sara?"
"He made me tie her hands behind her back and then he made us sit on the couch. That's all I remember."
"Are you sure you're all right, Scully?"
"Yes. I just need a few minutes to get my bearings."
"Okay." He stood and walked over to the visibly distressed Grissom. "What was in the envelope?"
Startled, Grissom looked over at the FBI agent. "What?"
"I asked what was in the envelope."
"Look for yourself," Grissom said. He slid the note over towards Mulder.
"Should I put on some gloves or something?" Mulder asked while glancing at the paper.
Pulling off his latex gloves and slapping them down on the counter, Grissom said, "I don't really care." He walked past the agent and out of the apartment. In the hallway he leaned against the wall near Sara's door. He banged his head back against the wall a couple times before letting out a heavy sigh. Please let her be all right. I will kill the bastard if he's hurt her. What if he kills her…no, no, no. Don't think like that. She's fine. This is Sara Sidle. She's a fighter. She doesn't give up. I can't give up on her. I have to find her. I can't live without her. Please let her be all right. He ran a hand over his face and through his hair. He gathered himself and headed back into the apartment.
"How are we going to do this?" Grissom asked.
"What do you mean?" Mulder replied.
"Get Sara back."
"Scully and I were just discussing that," Mulder said. He and Scully both were now standing at the counter looking at the note.
Grissom walked over and stood with the pair. "Don't you think we should make a plan and get going?"
"We? Scully and I can handle this. There's no need for you to be involved."
Grissom's anger and despair was evident in his voice. "Oh, I'm involved. I've been involved from the beginning. I don't care what you say. I'm going with you. This guy has my--has Sara and I'm going to get her back. So, I suggest you decide a game plan on what to do and include me in it."
"Okay…We need to get the bodies. We need a plane and we'll need a truck once we get to California," Mulder said.
Grissom thought for a moment and then said, "I have a pilot friend who owes me a big favor. He also knows how to keep his mouth shut. Why don't you two go get the bodies and I'll call you and tell you where to meet me."
"Are you sure this guy will fly us?" Scully asked.
"He owes me a really big favor," Grissom replied heading for the door.
"Let's get moving then," Scully said. She and Mulder followed Grissom out of the apartment. Grissom locked Sara's door and they headed off to do their separate tasks.