Chapter 14: Fiery Burst

It was late, or early, however you wanted to look at it. The night air was cold, icy even. A frost had settled over the porch, slicking the wooden boards. Sara walked carefully, not wanting to fall as she made her way down the stairs, holding onto the railing for support.

The sky was clear, the stars shone brightly. She drew in a deep breath as she glanced up at them, the warm air she exhaled turning into moisture as it drifted upward. You could never see stars like this back in Vegas.

The moon was bright, a halo surrounding it, giving it a hazy appearance. She smiled, stepping off the porch into the ankle deep snow. Unable to sleep, she had wandered outside, thinking that a short walk would help calm her nerves.

She had spent the last few nights sleeping next to Greg, it had helped calm her nerves some, allowing her to sleep easier. But tonight, not even that was helping her to stay calm. She was restless, but unable to explain why.

This had been happening on and off now for the last several months. Some nights were good; she slept soundly, without any dreams, or nightmares. But most, were plagued with unnerving thoughts, while others she couldn't even close her eyes. She hadn't talked to anyone about them, not even their therapist Grissom had set them up with.

Sara came to a stop, her eyes drifting around wearily. She knew that talking was the best way to heal old wounds, but whenever she tried, she couldn't find the words. Shaking her head, she turned around, making her way back towards the cabin. When the timing was right, she would be able to talk about it, she was sure of it.

Walking back, she came to a stop, glancing over her shoulder with a frown. She thought she had heard something, but then again the wind had picked up. With a shrug she continued walking. She was nearly there when someone grabbed her from behind.

Sara's first intention was to scream, but a hand around her mouth muffled any attempt to do so. Whoever had her was at least a head taller, one hand wrapped around her mouth, holding her head back, the other wrapped around her chest.

Struggling, Sara kicked out behind her, trying to knock her attacker off balance. She was able to get a few successful kicks in, but that was all. A knife pressed against her throat stopped all her struggles, and she was left trying to catch her breath.

Her attacker laughed, and for the first time she heard her voice as he taunted her. "Sara, Sara, Sara," his breath was warm against her face. She closed her eyes as the blade of the knife was drawn closer against her neck, as silent tears ran down her face.

"Sara…Sara…Sara?"

Her eyes shot open, confusion filling her as she tried to remember where she was. Panic overrode her when she found that she couldn't move, someone had a hold of her hands, effectively pinning them down. She struggled a bit more, muttering something that even she couldn't understand.

"Sara? Come on girl, wake up."

Sara let out breath, her struggles ceasing as she blinked a few times in the dim light. She found herself face to face with Greg; he still a hold of her wrists, and was watching her intently.

"You with me?" he asked, uncertainty in his voice.

She nodded, "Um, yeah…" her voice trailing off.

Greg let go of her wrists, rubbing her arm, still watching her. "You okay?"

She nodded again, rolling away from him, facing the other wall now. She was still shaken, and slightly embarrassed, the dream had seemed so real. It had scared her; she was still scared, but mostly embarrassed. She felt Greg move up behind her, pulling her hair from her face as he kissed her gently, wrapping an arm around her.

Letting out a sigh, she rolled back towards him, watching him. "It was about that night again," she said softly, blushing as she looked away. "Well, kind of, it was the same guy, I think, he's still after me…" she grew quiet, staring up at the ceiling.

"Sara, I don't think they are."

"They searched for weeks Greg, no bodies were found," Sara pointed out.

"That doesn't mean anything, a hundred miles of desert Sara, where could they have gone?"

"I don't know Greg, I just have this feeling. They're going to finish what they started, I can't help it."

"You have to let it go," Greg told her, embracing her gently.

She pushed him away, sitting up. "They are out there, they got away. You know as well as I do how criminals are, they don't leave witnesses alive."

"Sara, they couldn't have lived. They had no food, no water, no protection. Even if they did make it into another town, someone would have recognized them, they were on the cop's top wanted list, on every news station. They're still out in the desert somewhere, and that's where they'll stay."

Sara shook her head, "That's not true, and you know it," biting her lip she folded her arms across her knees, trying not to cry as Greg sat up next to her.

Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, Greg rested his head on her shoulder. "It's over Sara," he told her quietly, "I don't know what else to tell you. Let's just, forget it okay? Let's not fight, not tonight?"

She nodded reluctantly, giving in to his embrace as he rubbed her back, slowly bringing her down next to him. Curling up against him, she closed her eyes as Greg pulled the blankets back over them.

"I didn't mean to…wake you," Sara told him. She could feel him laugh against her.

"Just go back to sleep," he said through a yawn. "I'll be mad at you later; I'm too tired right now."

She smiled as she listened to his faint breathing as he fell asleep, before falling asleep herself.

"Two different breaks," Candi announced, examining the door. It was the second day of the B&E case, and it seemed to Greg as if they were going backwards. He looked down from where he sat at the top of stairs, watching the trainee examine the door. It should have been one of the first things he did.

"What does that mean?" Greg asked, yawning. Even though he had slept most of last night, Greg still felt himself feeling tired. Even more so now than he was this morning.

"Means that both locks were locked?" Candi suggested, glancing up at him to see if he was right.

Greg nodded, encouraging him to continue. Letting out a sigh, he rubbed his eyes, blinking wearily a few times. He wondered dully if he was coming down with something, or if the lack of sleep was getting him down. He was beginning to feel worse as the day continued on.

Greg reminded himself mentally that they only had 15 days left, before they would be able to return back home. Greg was looking more and more forward to it with each passing day.

He glanced up as Sara came behind him, taking a seat next to him. She gave him a small smile, "Room's been checked, all done."

Greg nodded, turning back to keep an eye on Candi. "Good," he told her quietly. "Maybe we can get out of here a little early today. Get back to the cabin, catch some extra sleep."

Sara watched him for a moment, "You still tired?"

Greg nodded, "A little yeah," he pressed a hand against his eyes again. "Might be catching something, eyes hurt too," he complained.

"Well, stop rubbing them," Sara laughed softly, pulling his hand away. "You're just going to make them worse. They look red," she added. "You probably got something on your gloves, transferred right to your eyes."

Greg nodded, "Wouldn't surprise me," he grinned.

Sara laughed, shaking her head. She became serious for a moment, "You smell that?"

Greg sat there, quiet for a moment before frowning. "I don't smell anything."

"Odd," Sara commented. "I don't smell it anymore, but I recognized it."

"What?"

Sara shrugged, "I don't know. Probably nothing."

Greg nodded, leaning back against the stairs, reaching up with his hand again. Sara stopped him, holding onto his wrist. "Stop rubbing them."

"They hurt," he protested, frowning.

She laughed, grabbing his face, "You are such a baby," she told him.

"I am not," Greg argued, holding on to her arm.

"I don't see anything in them, they're just irritated, maybe they're dry," she suggested. "My eyes are dry too; we'll stop at the store and see if they have any eye drops on our way back."

"Sounds good," he admitted, grinning at her again.

She shook her head, turning away from him. "Don't even think about it."

Greg stopped in the middle of rubbing his eyes again, frowning. "What, you have eyes in the back of your head now?"

"I've always had eyes in the back of my head," she joked, "I thought you knew that."

"I do now," Greg told her, "I'll just have to remember it."

"That's going to drive me nuts now," she cursed slightly, turning back towards him.

He raised an eyebrow. "Okay, I'll stop rubbing them."

"Not you," she laughed softly, "You already drive me nuts, it's that smell, I know I've smelt it before, but I can't remember what it is."

Greg shrugged, "You'll probably remember it in the middle of the night, and you'll wake me up just to let me know," he teased her.

"Yup, have to keep you on your toes somehow."

He laughed, turning his attention back down to Candi. He was scribbling notes in his notebook. "Power may have been cut," he called up to them. "I'll take a quick check around to see what still works."

"How's he doing?" Sara asked, watching him along with Greg.

Greg shrugged, "Not bad, a little slow, but then again so was I when I first started."

Sara nodded, "Who wasn't?"

"Grissom?" Greg suggested, "He always seems on top of his game."

"More in likely, who knows?" Sara agreed, "Ammonia…"

Greg turned to her, "Ammonia?"

She nodded, "That smell, it's ammonia."

"Are you sure?" Greg asked, his eyebrows furling as he sat up.

She nodded again, "Positive."

Greg shook his head, watching Candi as he went about his work as he thought things over. "Wait a minute," he turned back to Sara, "Isn't ammonia highly combustible?"

Sara nodded slowly, catching on quickly as the two turned back to the CSI trainee as he made his way into the kitchen. "Candi wait," Greg called out, watching as the young man reached for the stove top dial.

The warning came too late, however, as the stove top turned on with a click, small flames shooting out of the base and quickly incinerating the room.

TBC