A/N Don't own any of these guys, except Beth.
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Grissom got out of work earlier than usual, which was still later than everyone else. The night shift had ended roughly four hours earlier, and everyone had been sent home. He had wanted to work on a few things before he headed out, but he decided after four hours that the rest could wait. As he exited the Las Vegas Crime Lab, his mind wandered over the events of his evening. His thoughts drifted to Greg and the young man's haste to get home to Beth. His thought continued to drift on, towards Beth. He mind suddenly stopped drifting and snapped back to reality. He had not heard from either one. He knew that Beth was home and worried sick, so he decided that he would stop by the Sanders' residence on his way home just to make sure that things had worked out.
The drive was a relatively short one, only fifteen minutes long. When he arrived at their house, he found Beth's Kia Cinco in the driveway, but Greg's silver Civic was missing. He parked his Tahoe beside the tiny Kia. After stepping out of his vehicle, Grissom hurriedly walked up to the front door.
He knocked. There was no answer, so he knocked again. This time, he thought he heard a faint sound coming from within the house. He let himself in and followed the sound. "Beth? Are you here?" There was no response, other than the soft sound that he heard previously.
His heart broke when Beth came into view. She was sitting on the floor with her knees up to her chest and her arms wrapped around them. The phone was dangling off the hook beside her. The sound that he had heard was the phone recording telling her to, "Please hang up and dial again." She was oblivious to all of her surroundings as she sat there, rocking back and forth. Her face, what he could see of it, was soaked with tears that had long since stopped falling. His best guess was that she had been sitting in that position for the better portion of an hour.
Realizing that she was in some sort of shock, he approached her slowly, not wanting to alarm her. His mind was racing with various situations and possibilities, but he shut them out, deciding that he had to be strong for her.
He knelt down in front of her and gently lifted her chin so that he could look at her face. Although he was looking into her eyes, she was not looking into his. She was looking through his eyes, to some point behind him. He spoke slowly and reassuringly, not wanting to worsen her state of mind. "Beth, I'm here for you, honey. But I need you to talk to me so that I can help you." He kept his voice steady although his heart was racing. "Beth, tell me what happened. Who called?"
She seemed to hear him because her eyes moved, focusing on his eyes, rather than beyond them. As he watched, her whole body began to shudder, and tears began to well up in her eyes. She spoke in a soft, defeated voice. "She said that I would never see Greg again." Her tears began to fall, and she threw her arms around him. His worst fears had been confirmed. Greg had not taken a detour, had not been stuck in traffic, and had not stopped to pick up food. He had been abducted, and time was running out.
Grissom pulled Beth in closer to himself, cradling her as if she were a small child. With one hand, he massaged her back, and with the other, he reached for his cell phone.
