Disclaimer: ...checks...no, still not mine...

Author's Notes: I'd love to thank each person who replied personally, but time won't allow it. Instead, I'll thank you as a group, you guys are the best. Without your encouraging words, I wouldn't have bothered to write this tonight.

I'm moving ahead in time a bit on this, although I do plan on clearing up all of the loose ends. I only expect this story to progress to chapter fifteen, and then I'm planning a short sequel to deal with the aftermath of this story (including wrapping up Catherine and Warrick, as well as Sara and Greg). This chapter deals a lot with Sara and Catherine, not much W/C, but the next chapter will focus on W/C, as well as Nick. Trust me, okay? And I know Warrick seemed a little out of character, but then again, we've never seen him in parental mode, and as a parent, I can say with confidence that your children bring out the worst side of you to even the closest of friends. Warrick will see the error of his ways, though...it'll all come together soon.

Again, thanks for all of the wonderful replies, you guys keep me motivated to write when I see that you're still reading! You guys rock!

Jenny

Chapter Thirteen:

Sara sat at the break room table, her casted leg propped on a chair as she silently flipped through case after case, trying to decide which cold case she wanted to review.

It had been nearly a month since Greg had vanished without alerting anyone of his whereabouts, and while she, Grissom, and Brass had spent each day looking for the missing CSI, no headway had been made.

This was her first shift since the accident, and as usual, she was the first of the team to arrive. Grissom had put her to work reviewing a handful of cold cases, since her disabled knee would be a hindrance in the field. She supposed that once she was through going through the old files, she'd help out around the different labs, she had gotten a little experience with that after the wreck her and Catherine had been involved in the previous year.

Of all of the issues bothering her since she found herself in the hospital, completely alone, besides Greg's disappearance, the most upsetting was the way Catherine and Warrick had been avoiding her. She could understand them being angry with Greg, he had been involved in the altercation that put their baby in harm's way, but Sara hadn't done anything besides date Greg.

She had assumed that dating Greg was the reason Catherine and Warrick, especially Warrick, had been ignoring her, because she couldn't think of anything else she could have done to make the two of them angry. The situation was only improved slightly with the knowledge that they weren't speaking with Nick, either, nor Grissom. They both came to work, did their job, and went home to prepare for the new arrival to their family.

It didn't anger Sara as much as it hurt her feelings. She and Catherine had gotten off to a rocky start as friends, and it wasn't until they nearly died in a terrible car accident that they started to warm up to each other. Once both were back on their feet, a strong friendship had been formed, but now, all of a sudden it had been destroyed. She didn't think she could ever hold Warrick's actions against Catherine, and she felt that it was unfair for them to do the same to her. She would tell both of them that, if they'd ever return her phone calls.

She suddenly felt alone again, as she had before the first accident. Back then, she was friendly with Nick, Warrick, and Greg, but they weren't really her friends. Now, she couldn't even say she was friendly. She had spent a month off of work, recovering from the hit-and-run, and she had gotten no phone calls or visitors, except for Grissom and Brass, who were trying to locate Greg.

Greg stayed on her mind constantly, she found herself hoping and praying that he was okay, that he was going to come home, that he would at least call. There had been no correspondence, and from what Warrick had told Grissom, he had been pretty upset the last time anyone had seen him.

She missed him so much, she often found herself clinging to the pillow he slept on, wearing his clothes to bed so she could smell his scent, even misting his aftershave on her towel so she could imagine it was like the old times. The fact that he was now gone made her regret every hateful word she had said to him on the night of the accident, regret every time she turned down his invitation to become more physical in their relationship.

She looked down at the file in front of her, suddenly realizing she couldn't remember a word that she had read. Flipping to the beginning, she tried to focus on the notes and photos, but as the other members of her team started filing into the room, she decided she would just wait until alone to continue.

It wasn't as if they would disturb her, Catherine and Warrick had sat on the opposite end of the table, whispering quietly to each other, and Nick stood by the coffeepot, stirring cream into his cup in complete silence, avoiding the eye contact with everyone.

With a quiet sigh, Sara started to flip through the papers again. She wasn't sure what she had expected, but a simple 'hello' wouldn't have been too much to ask. Shaking her head sadly, she began to read her file from the beginning. Daniel Houghton, age 46...

Across the table, Catherine and Warrick were doing their best to avoid contact with either Nick or Sara. Warrick had ripped into Nick like he had Greg, an action he was regretting, but he hadn't been able to make the decision to apologize just yet.

Sure, he knew that he was wrong, but he also felt like they were wrong for endangering his child's life. No one should have to apologize for defending their family. He wasn't sure when his animosity had grown so strong...he wasn't even quite certain if he was feeling animosity or fear...but somehow it had extended to Catherine, and now she had cut herself off from the others too.

He knew it upset her to abandon her friends like she did, but in his defense, he hadn't requested her to do so. Maybe he had urged her to wait and call Sara back later, but he never told her never to do so. He hadn't urged her to request to work solo, or with Grissom or himself instead of Nick, but she had made that decision. He was certain that her behavior stemmed from his actions, and her own fear that something could go wrong with the baby, but he never questioned her. The last thing he needed was to upset her and send the baby into distress.

He had been worried sick when the doctors had shooed him out of Catherine's room, working quickly to determine what was happening with their son. His worry had increased when they told him the baby was in distress, probably from Catherine's blood pressure having risen suddenly. There could have been a hundred reasons or more for her blood pressure to have risen, but he was certain it was from stress. He had felt so guilty and so useless, knowing that while he should have been focusing on Catherine and their baby, he was picking a fight with Greg. After a few days in the hospital, the baby was as good as new and they were on their way home, Catherine being forced to stay in bed for two weeks, light work after that.

Greg...his name alone made Warrick's stomach churn with guilt. So many angry, bitter words had been spoken, all indicating that Warrick was the reason he had left so suddenly.

He had been worried when Grissom had questioned him about the last time he had seen Greg, although he didn't voice his concerns. He gave Grissom a brief, toned down version of his argument with Greg, and told his boss to let him know if there was anything he could do to help.

He had heard through the grapevine that Sara had checked herself out of the hospital, AMA, and demanded to let Grissom and Brass help in the search for Greg. Of course, since there was no indication of foul play, they couldn't technically call it a case, but both Grissom and Brass had used their pull in the LVMPD to keep an eye out for the boy. Sara, in the meantime, had questioned all of his neighbors, his landlord, the spots he normally hung out at. She had contacted his parents, siblings, anyone who knew him in hopes that he was in contact with someone.

After wearing herself down to the point where Grissom was threatening to have her readmitted to the hospital, she eased up slightly, although he was certain she was still checking any possibility of his location. He knew this had to be killing her, not knowing where he was, if he was okay, what was going on...but he couldn't bring himself to reach out to her. After all, this was possibly all his fault, she didn't deserve help from a friend like him.

He brought his thoughts to the present time, knowing he needed to be focused when Grissom came to hand out assignments. Tonight was Monday, Catherine's day to work in the lab. Grissom had split her time in the lab and in the field to give her more of a chance to rest. At first she had balked at the idea, but she was gradually warming up to it, grateful for the break as she grew tired more and more easily.

She was now 25 weeks pregnant, and getting bigger by the day. A month ago, her pregnancy was barely noticeable, but now everyone she came in contact with stopped her and asked her when she was due. He was a feisty little boy, constantly moving and kicking, which was delighting Lindsey as she anxiously awaited the arrival of her little brother.

He rested his hand on her abdomen, giving her a warm smile as she covered his hand with her own.

Grissom walked into the room, several slips of paper in his hands, "Good evening, everyone. Welcome back, Sara, we're going to have a busy night tonight."

He waited until everyone looked up towards him, taking in each of their appearances with concern. Catherine looked tired and miserable, although he assumed that was from the pregnancy. Warrick's jaw was still set in underlying anger, as it had been for the last month. Nick was gazing at the opposite wall, as if he was ignoring everyone around him, also angry with the world. Sara's face was etched with sadness as she occasionally let her eyes drift to the other members of her team. She had missed so much in the last five weeks, and it seemed as if it was just now sinking in.

He hated the tension in the room, he dreaded having them all in the same room together. His team, which at one point was closer than any other group he had ever seen, was now split apart and strewn in totally opposite directions.

Sighing, he handed Warrick a slip of paper, "Car Accident, just happened, I-59 Northbound, just out of town," He turned his attention to Nick, "Armed robbery at the Stop-And-Go off of the strip. I'll be at a double homicide at Circus, Circus. I want both of you to meet me when you finish up. Catherine, I have Sara working on some cold cases, give her a hand."

He looked sternly at Catherine and Sara, who both had apprehensive looks on their faces, "Play nicely, and I want both of you to go home if you get too tired."

Both women nodded, looking down at the table with dread. As much as Sara wanted Catherine's friendship back, forcing them to work together wasn't going to get it. Catherine, on the other hand, felt horrible about the way she treated one of her only female friends, and was not looking forward to the confrontation she knew was to come.

The men filed out of the room, and Catherine walked over to Sara, pulling out a chair and sitting down, "What do we have?"

"Take your pick." Sara said quietly, her voice showing the emotion she was feeling inside.

Catherine pulled the folder beneath the one Sara had been looking at, "Joanna King, arson. Sounds good to me."

Sara didn't respond, instead she flipped open Daniel Houghton's folder once more, staring blankly at the information in front of her. As she tried to concentrate on the paperwork, her thoughts drifted to Greg...she'd much rather be sitting here with him instead of Catherine, who suddenly seemed vaguely interested in starting a conversation.

The more Sara thought of it, the more angry she felt. She had been brushed off for a month by her supposed friend, and suddenly now that they were alone, Catherine kept giving her expectant looks, as though she thought they would be able to get along fine now. Sara had news for her 'friend', if she thought they could forgive and forget, she was mistaken. Sara Sidle could dish out just as well as she could receive, and she wasn't going to back down without a fight.

Pushing aside her thoughts about Catherine, Greg, and the rest of her team, Sara decided it was time to focus on work. Closing her eyes, and counting to ten, she took a deep breath and let herself relax, knowing that relaxing would be the only way she'd make some sort of progress with these cases.

Catherine flipped open her own folder, her emotions mixed. She wanted to talk to Sara, tell her how sorry she was for being selfish and preoccupied with her own problems. She wanted to make an excuse for her neglect of their friendship, explain that the month had flown by and she hadn't had a chance to call. She wanted to tell her that she was sorry she hadn't been a good friend, sorry that Greg had abandoned her. She wanted to explain that she had been worried about the baby, upset over the tension with the shift, worried about Sara, about Greg, about Nick, about Warrick. She wanted to ask for comfort from the one woman she felt open enough to talk with, she wanted to share the details of the pregnancy, have someone to share her joy and anxiety.

Instead, she stared at the pages in front of her, occasionally meeting Sara's eye, but never summoning up enough courage to talk to the other woman.

She let her left hand fall to her abdomen, a soft smile on her face as the baby began to twist and turn, causing her whole stomach to move from side to side. She was so relieved that the baby was okay, she had to stay calm for his sake. To stay calm, she needed to clear the air. She could do this, she had to.

"Sara?"

Sara looked up, glancing at Catherine's folder, "Do you have anything?"

"Sara, we need to talk." Catherine said with a shaky voice, her nervousness showing. She never used to show signs of weakness, that had to be the worst part of pregnancy, the raw emotion that came with it. "Seriously."

Sara was about to respond when her cell phone began to shrilly ring. Shooting Catherine an apologetic look, she glanced at the caller ID, frowning when it displayed an unfamiliar area code, instead of the Las Vegas standard 702.

"Sidle." She said uncertainly, wondering who would be calling her at this time of night from such an unrecognizable number. The only possibility made her heart race and a thin layer of sweat break out over her body. It couldn't be, could it?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. She knew she had to act fast. "Greg?" she asked anxiously, hoping the voice on the other side would answer.

Once again, she was met with silence.

"Greg, please talk to me, tell me that you're okay. Greg? Are you there? Greg?" She couldn't keep the tears away now, as her body filled with worry and dread. It had to be him, who else would be calling her? Anyone she spoke to lived in Las Vegas, and would be programed on her cell phone. Why wasn't he answering her? Was he sick? Hurt? Kidnaped? What had happened? "Greg!"

There was a soft click, and then the line went dead. Sara's head dropped to her arms, resting on the table as her shoulders began to shake with sobs. Her chest was still sore from the accident, although several weeks had passed, but she barely felt the pain as her entire body shook with sobs. She didn't care that she was at work, she didn't care that she was with Catherine, all she could focus on was Greg, and being so close to talking to him.

Catherine watched as Sara answered her phone, slightly upset that the call interrupted their pending conversation. The beginnings of anger turned into worry as Sara's face paled and she started calling Greg's name. The worry grew to panic as Sara dropped the phone on the table, her body heaving with sobs as she started to break down.

"Sara? What happened?" Catherine asked, reaching out and touching Sara's arm gently, "Was that Greg?"

Sara's sobs grew louder, and any residual anger Catherine felt towards Sara vanished as she knelt on the floor, putting her hand on Sara's shoulder, "Sara?"

Sara lifted her head slightly, wiping her eyes as she gasped for breath, "I don't know who it was. Oh, God, I can't take this anymore."

"Take what?" Catherine asked gently, brushing some hair that had fallen into Sara's face behind her ears, "Talk to me."

Sara's arm motioned around the room, her lip trembling as she struggled to control her tears. She spoke with a shaking, yet definite, voice, "All of this. Everyone ignoring everyone else. Being alone. Greg missing. No one caring. This isn't right, this isn't us. What happened to us? How bad will things have to get before we can all start to get along?"

Catherine pulled Sara into a tight hug, whispering soothingly as Sara sobbed, giving in to her own tears after only a few minutes. They sat together for nearly an hour before Catherine pulled away, "Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"I didn't know the number, it had to be Greg, I don't even know if he's okay. Why wouldn't he talk to me?" Sara rambled absentmindedly as she tapped her finger on her cell phone, "Just silence. What if he was taken? What if he's hurt and bleeding? What if he's just waiting for us to find him? How can someone disappear without emptying their bank account and never use their credit card? How can someone hide from us for a month without leaving us any sort of trail?"

Catherine took the phone from Sara, "Calm down and think clearly. We'll trace this number and find out where it came from. You don't know that it's Greg, we need to find out if it's really him first. Once we know where the call came from, we will know where to start looking."

"We?"

"I think we've all sat back and watched long enough. Greg's our friend too, we'll do anything we can to get him back," Catherine said firmly, "This has all gone on long enough, it's time to put the past behind us and move on, before it kills all of us. We need to stick together, that's what friends do."

Sara wiped away her tears, nodding as she picked up her cell phone, "I think it's time to give this number a call back, don't you suppose?"

"Definitely." Catherine said, sitting beside Sara and grabbing a notepad to take down any information with. Sara wrote the number from her cell phone onto her notepad before pulling over the telephone from the other end of the table. With shaky fingers, she dialed 504-670-2900, unintentionally holding her breath as she waiting for an answer.

"Bonjour, Ritz-Carlton Maison Orleans. This is Cheree, how many I help you?"

Catherine spoke, seeing Sara's stunned silence, "Hello, Cheree, this is Catherine Willows from the Las Vegas Crime Lab. I was wondering if you could tell me if a Greg Sanders has a room reserved in your facility?"

"Yes mam, hold on one moment please," There was a soft click, following by quiet jazz muzak, indicating that they were on hold. Both women sat in tense silence, waiting for the girl to return to the phone. After a few moments passed, there was another click, followed by the young southern voice they had been speaking to moments before, "Yes mam, would you like to leave a message for Mr. Sanders?"

Catherine hesitated before replying, "No, thank you though, you've been a great help to us."

"Would you mind telling us where you are located?" Sara asked, finally snapping out of her shocked silence as she realized that pending flight schedules, she could be face to face with Greg by this point tomorrow.

"Our address is 904 Rue Iberville, we're located right off of Bourbon Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. If you call when you arrive at the airport, we would be glad to send a car to pick you up." Cheree's kind voice rang through the line.

Catherine smiled, "Thank you, have a great night."

"You too. Au Revoir."

Catherine pressed the speaker button to hang up the phone, sliding the paper with the address to Sara, "You call the airport, I'll call Grissom."

"Thank you, Cath." Sara replied, flipping open her cell phone and dialing the number for the airport.

Three hours later, she was on a red-eye flight to New Orleans, her chest tight with anxiety as she realized that after all of the searching, she may have found Greg.

TBC