***************************************************************

Sara found herself staring down the barrel of Grissom's gun.

Brooks was using her as a human shield. He was twisting her wrist behind her back, so hard that she screamed out in pain.

"Brooks!" Grissom shouted, Sara's scream tearing at him.

He could barely see him, hidden behind Sara. There was no way could he land a shot without hitting her.

Brooks started to drag Sara towards the door, backing up, keeping Sara between Grissom and himself.

"It seems that the party's ending early. We'll have to reschedule." He reached the door. "See you soon, Mr Grissom. We'll play again."

Gently he kissed Sara on the temple, and she winced.

"Goodbye." With that, he pushed Sara roughly to the floor, and was gone.

Grissom holstered his weapon quickly, and raced over to her.

She looked up at him dejectedly. "What are you doing? Apprehension of the suspect, number one priority."

"Not to me. Not this time." He gently helped her to a sitting position, and then knelt beside her. "You ok?"

"My wrist. I think he broke it." She began to shiver, mostly from the cold; sitting in her tiny shorts and vest that she had worn to bed, but also from the shock that was kicking in.

Grissom looked at her for a moment, and then began to take off his jacket. "Here." He placed it over her shoulders. "Let me see that wrist."

She held it out to him, and he softly ran his fingers over it. She flinched at his touch. "I think you're right."

"Grissom-" The tears started to roll down her rosy cheeks. "I think you saved my life." She whispered, softly, her breath creating little pools of mist in the dark.

"It's all ok now."

 Tenderly he wrapped her in his arms and rocked her, as she sobbed into his chest.

"It's all ok. I'm here." He let her calm down, and then he took her face in his hands, and looked deep into her bleary eyes. "You think you can walk out of here?"

She nodded. He placed her good arm over his shoulder, and slid his around her waist. Together, as one, they stood, and slowly they made their way to Grissom's car.

He helped her into the passenger side, her bare legs dangling out of the door, and moved around to the trunk to pull out some blankets.

"Here." He wrapped them around her, swapping them for his jacket. "That better?"

She nodded, numb from the whole experience.

He could make out sirens in the distance, pulling closer.

"I think the cavalry has arrived." He gave her a tiny Grissom smile, but the shock had engulfed her now, and she didn't see. In the yellow light of the car interior, he could make out the massive bruise on Sara's face.

Probably broke her cheekbone, too, the son of a bitch.

He cursed out loud, but even that didn't bring Sara out.

Soon the troops were upon them. Cath, Brass, Nick and Warrick were first on the scene. The sheriff, a swat team and an ambulance followed in a matter of seconds.

"Gil!" Cath sprinted over and hugged them, first Sara, then Grissom.

"Thank god! Are you both alright? Where's Brooks?"

Grissom looked over at Sara, who now had a swarm of EMT's hovering around her.

"I'm fine. He bailed. Sara needs to-"

"Grissom!" The angry call resonated through the street.

Catherine and Grissom turned to see Sheriff Brian Mobley striding purposefully towards them.

"What the hell did you think you were playing at?"

"I'm sorry, Brian?" Grissom gave him a condescending glare, and then moved to where Sara was being loaded into the ambulance.

"You deliberately disobeyed protocol!" Mobley was practically chasing him.

"Can you fire me later? I have something I need to do." Then he turned to the EMT who was about to close up the doors. "Is it ok if I join you?" The EMT looked to Sara, who nodded.

Grissom climbed in next to her, and gave Mobley a wave.

 The EMT closed the door, and patted the side.

As the engine started up, Sara turned to look at him. "You gonna get fired?"

Grissom shrugged. "Probably. But it doesn't matter. Are you ok?"

She smiled weakly, and nodded.

***************************************************************

Catherine watched as the ambulance rolled away.

Nick stepped up behind her, followed by Warrick.

"Hey, Cath, are they ok?" Nick looked worried.

"Yeah, Nicky. They're gonna be fine. Grissom will probably get fired, but they're both ok."

Warrick was aghast. "Seriously? They're gonna fire Grissom? Man, that blows."

"Yeah." Cath looked at them in turn, first Warrick, and then Nick. Their expressions mirrored her own, a mixture of sadness and horror at the imminent loss of their supervisor. "How about we grab some food?"

"Yeah." Nick managed a smile.

"I'm in." Warrick nodded.

"Brass?" The three of them trooped over to the rumpled detective, whom they counted as one of their own. "You in for some food?"

"No, I think I'll hang about here. Help in the search for this guy."

"Come on, Jim. You've been working this solid. Take a break. They can handle it."

"Ok. Half an hour, tops." He rumpled his cheeks even more with a smile, and then it disappeared as he remembered something.

"The sheriff wants to fire Gil."

"We know."

"And I can't say he doesn't deserve it, but he's the best thing that's ever happened to this unit."

"Why, Jim, you going soft on us?" Cath couldn't stop herself.

Jim spluttered. "No. Really, I mean…" The grin on Cath's face made him feel beaten. He gave up. "The usual?"

So the four of them piled into two cars, Brass's Taurus and Cath's Tahoe, and headed for the diner.

***************************************************************

Once they'd reached the hospital, been unloaded and placed in a room by the triage nurse, the trauma was beginning to wear off. Sara was gradually returning to normality, though Grissom figured that the strange look in her eyes would stay for a while.

He sat in the corner while Sara lay, propped up, on the gurney. He watched her as she stared blankly at the wall. Suddenly she raised her hand to her cheek, jerkily, as if she was feeling something he couldn't see.

As she ran her fingers over her cheekbone, she saw him strike her, felt the sting, heard the sound of his hand on her skin. And then he did it again. And again. And again.

Grissom was almost shaking her.

"Sara! Sara! Shh…"

She looked at him, bewildered and breathless.

 "You were screaming. What? What was it?"

She blinked a couple of times, fixing her empty stare on his ice blue eyes.

For a moment he held her gaze, and he understood.

The way her fingers danced on her cheek, the blank, lost look in her eyes.

She wasn't in that hospital room with him; she was still sitting, bound to that chair.

"Sara?" He tentatively spoke, his voice a soft whisper.

She was still staring at him, but she didn't answer.

"Come on, Sara."

The look in her eyes changed a little, the sound of his soft voice reaching her.

"Sara." There was more urgency in his tone now, as he realised she was coming back.

Gradually she returned to him, slowly but surely. After a few tense moments, she gave him a tiny smile, and sighed.

He visibly relaxed.

"You… Ok now?" Grissom couldn't think of anything else to say. Realising he still had his hands on her shoulders; he pulled them away, folding them across his chest.

Sara nodded.

"Can I get you anything? Glass of water, or some food, maybe?

She shook her head. "I'll be ok."

He nodded, and returned to his chair, which seemed to be further away than ever.

She lay down on the gurney, and sleep overcame her like a blow to the head.

***************************************************************

Soon her gentle snores reached Grissom.

Standing, he stretched.

Walking over to her, he fought with the urge to climb up on the bed beside her, and wrap her in his arms.

She was curled up, foetal like, with her good arm folded across her chest, and her broken one splayed out, resting away from her body.

Grissom took off his glasses and rubbed the bridge of his nose, as he often did in times of frustration.

Replacing them he sighed.

Reaching for the blanket that was folded at the foot of the bed, he pulled it up over her, fearing that the little warmth that she seemed to have regained would be lost.

He did this more for his sake than for hers.

She shifted slightly as the blanket touched her skin, but did not wake.

Now that she was sleeping, he felt able to pull his chair up, close to her bed. He did so, careful to make no sound.

From his new post, he watched over her.

He watched her breathe, he watched her eyelids flutter ever so slightly, watched her react to her subconscious.

He had often found her asleep in the lab, most often slumped over her computer.

He often hovered, just for a moment, allowing himself the lingering looks that he could never let her see him take.

***************************************************************

Catherine, Brass, Nick and Warrick munched half-heartedly on their first proper meal in a while. They ate in melancholy silence, each understanding why the others didn't speak. Everyone's mind was somewhere else.

Abruptly, Nick broke the silence.

"What will he do?" He obviously couldn't see Grissom anywhere but in the lab, head in a microscope.

Cath looked at him, and let out a deep, smooth sigh. "If he looses his job? I don't know."

"Probably become a bug farmer or something…" Brass almost smiled, attempting to lighten their spirits. Truth was, that sounded exactly like Gil Grissom, Entomologist extraordinaire.

"Was Sara Ok? That guy… He didn't… do anything to her, did he?" He looked to Cath, anxiety marring his features.

"No, Nick. No. She's fine. He was just using her as… Bait, I suppose."

Brass looked at Warrick. "Hey, Rick, you ok?"

"Yeah." He paused for a moment, thinking something through. "Who is going to process Sara?"

Cath tilted her head, and looked at him, puzzled. "One of the day shifts, I guess."

 "Yeah. And I bet I know who." Warrick shook his head, and Nick jumped on his train of thought.

"Ecklie. Woah, if Grissom's there…"

Cath joined them. "He will not be happy. He'll probably give Mobley another reason to fire his ass." She stood, tossing a few bills on the table.

"You going over there?"

"Yeah. Only hope I can beat Ecklie. Is it ok to take the Tahoe, Nick?"

"Sure. Brass can give me a ride, can't you?"

"No problem." Brass nodded. He turned to Cath, who was already half way to the door, "Call it in."

"Will do." And she was gone.