Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters. I just enjoy writing about them.

Chapter 10

Sara could feel the eyes of her co-workers on her as she stared helplessly at the awful scene before her. She could not take her eyes off the message written in the victim's blood.

R U SCREAMING SARA?

U WILL B SOON!

The acidy taste of bile rose up in the back of her throat. She gagged trying to get it to retreat. She willed herself not to throw up, not in front of her friends. She felt the comforting warmth of someone's hand on the small of her back. She knew without looking that it was Nick. He made slow gentle circles and she could feel herself relaxing. It surprised her how reassuring his touch was.

Sara heard him whisper, "Are you all right?" She turned and met his worried eyes. She nodded her head slowly. She turned back to look at the dead girl. She shuttered thinking about the poor girl's tragic and horrifying murder. Everything appeared to be the same: the knife wounds and the strangulation marks are her neck. Sara felt a wave of sadness descend upon her. This girl had been murdered to send her a message. The killer wanted her and he was waiting.

A small sob escaped her mouth as she turned and rushed out of the room. Her friends watched her go, helpless to do anything to make it better. "Nick," Catherine said quietly, " You go." He nodded and left the room without a word.

Catherine met Grissom's concerned eyes and she knew what he was thinking. The situation was out of control and Sara was in grave danger. A maniac had targeted her and he was going to keep on killing until he got what he wanted and that was Sara.

Catherine and Grissom turned at the sound of Warrick's heated voice, "She needs protection and she needs it now." Grissom nodded in agreement and said, "Brass is already working on it." "We need to find this guy and fast," Warrick growled, "Sara feels responsible for these killings. It's written all over her face. If he keeps it up I don't know what it will do to her. You know how she gets."

"Believe me we will catch this SOB and we're going to nail his ass to the wall," Grissom said venomously. His team nodded in agreement. "We have a job to do. Let's do it right." Grissom said as he bent down to take samples from the victim.

Nick found Sara out of the back porch crying. He went to her drawing her to him with his good arm. She wrapped her arms around his waist and sobbed into the crock of his neck. Nick rubbed her back and whispered words of reassurance quietly in her ear. She finally stopped crying and looked up at him with red-rimmed eyes. "It's my fault Nick. She's dead because of me."

He reached up and gently cupped her face and said, "Sara, honey, your wrong. If it weren't you, he would have fixated on someone else. But we both know he picked the wrong girl to mess with. You're stronger then him and a hell of a lot smarter. We're going to find something to nail him with, I promise. We'll bring him down. You're a fighter Sara. You can do this. You're the strongest person I know." The sincerity in his voice and in his eyes overwhelmed her.

"Nick," she choked out, "I don't know if I can do this." "Baby you can and you will. We're all here for you. You're not alone. I promise I will not let anything happen to you. I'm herefor you." His beautiful brown eyes swam with emotion as he looked at her. "Nick," she breathed as she brought her hands up to his face and pulled him closer as she gently kissed his lips.

Nick lost himself in her kiss. Emotion after emotion raced through his body. He was terrified for her. If anything happened to her he wasn't sure what he would do. She had become the center of his world. He knew at that exact moment as her hands gently caressed his face and her lips slid sensuously over his, that he loved her. He loved her with his whole heart and soul. He desperately wanted to tell her but he knew it was not the right time.

Sara pulled away slowly from Nick and met his eyes. The emotion she saw clearly etched in his eyes, surprised her. And it scared her. She didn't want Nick to love her, not like this, not in the middle of this hellacious situation. She couldn't give him what he needed, not now not ever. "Nick," she started. But he must have read something in her eyes because he quickly said, "Let's head back inside and see what we can do to help."

Sara nodded in agreement. He held the door open with his coat sleeve and followed her inside. His heart broke just a little bit when he watched her retreat from him emotionally. For an instant he saw something in her eyes but she quickly put her wall up. She was still unwilling to let him in all the way. He was a patient man. He just hoped she would eventually learn to trust him with her heart. He had too much at stake to let her push him away. He protected the people that he loved and he would die if need be to protect her.

TBC……..Sorry it was so short. I have been extremely busy. Please review. It helps to motivate me. Thanks!

Also thanks to those of you who took the time to read my story and review it. It makes all the difference in the world when you get a great review. So thanks to those of you who like my story!!!