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Chapter 9

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Arriving at the airport just in time to watch the arrival/departure board change, Sara went straight to the information desk.

"Excuse me," she called, trying to get the attention of the man behind the desk. "Excuse me, is there any flight leaving today for Las Vegas? I'm in a terrible hurry."

Turning to the computer, he typed something in and clicked the mouse a few times. What was actually only a few minutes of waiting seemed like an eternity to Sara. She didn't want to be rude, but she had a terrible feeling in the pit of her stomach.

'Please,' she pleaded silently, 'please let him stll be here.'

The man turned and pulled her out of her thoughts.

"Yes, Delta had one scheduled for earlier this morning that was delayed, but-"

"Are there any others?" she asked.

"No, miss, but-"

Not waiting for the rest of his response, Sara grabbed her bags and ran as fast as she could to the other side of the airport. Twice she nearly fell in her haste to reach the Delta gate, but arriving there are getting back to Vegas was all that kept her from giving up. When she reached the gate, it was crowded. From the conversations floating all around her, a flight had just come in from the neighboring gate, and making her way through the mass of people was like trying to part the Red Sea.

Making her way to the ticket desk, she finally got the attention of the woman behind the counter.

"Can I help you, miss?"

"Yes, I was told that there was a flight scheduled for this morning that was delayed? ..."

"Yes," the smiling woman replied. "It was supposed to leave at 11:36 this morning, but it was delayed because of the storms nearby."

"I need to get on that flight," Sara said emphatically.

"Oh..." The woman's smile disappeared. "I'm sorry, but you've just missed it... It left about five minutes ago."

Her words hit Sara like a brick. Her only chance to stop the man she loved from leaving forever had just flown away. Turning back to the woman, she managed a weak "Thank you" before working her way back through the crowd to find a place to sit. Finding a row of seats near the gate door, she dumped her bags on the floor around her and buried her face in her hands, finally opening the floodgate that had threatened to break loose on several occasions. Anger, despair, and hopelessness coursed through her, causing her to shake as she sobbed.

How stupid could she have been?

Suddenly the hairs on the back of her neck stood up. Her tears stopped and her sobbs desolved into hiccups as she stood and looked around. Only one thing gave her that feeling, even after so long, and she knew what that meant... He was here.

Frantically, she searched face after face in the crowd, looking for his. Not seeing him, she moved a few feet closer to the sea of people, in hopes of a better vantage point.

A shiver ran down her spine, raising the hairs still further and intensifying the magnetic pull. She could feel him... If only she could-

"Hello Sara."

She wheeled around to seeGrissom standing among her luggage beside the row of seats, one small suitcase in hand. At the sight of him, her heart melted and the only place she wanted to be was in his arms. She started to run. Immediately he dropped his bag and caught her as she threw her arms around him, closing her swollen eyes and taking him in.

"Oh, God," she cried, "I thought you'd left..."

"Shhhh," he whispered. "I'm right here." He ran his fingers through her hair, stroking her for comfort.

They stayed there for a few moments, both content to hold on to the other forever. But suddenly,he began to pull back.

Sniffling, Sara looked up in concern. "What's wrong?"

"Why are you here?" he asked. "How did you get out of the hospital?"

"They released me. Said I was fine and I could go home, which is what I was trying to do..."

"They said you were fine?" he asked incredulously. "You had a concussion and a blow to the head that should have killed you... You were in a coma for a week! How can they say that you were fine?"

Sara gave a dry chuckle. "Believe me, they had a test for everything... I'm okay, really. They even packed my things for me..." She hesitated. "Which is where I found your letter."

Grissom watched her gaze drop as she said those last words. "You read it?"

She nodded, then slowly looked up, gazing into his everchanging eyes. The deepest blue of the ocean looked back at her from those eyes, telling her that he was just as emotionally on the edge as she was, and that he too needed to understand exactly what it was between them. Swallowing her pride, she went on.

"Grissom, I wasn't mad at you. I was never mad at you... I left because I was heartbroken. I was tired of being pulled in by your praises only to be pushed away again by your silence. It hurt, and hearing about Sofia was the last bit of hurt I could take."

He remained silent. While not exactly the response he'd hoped for, it told him what he needed to know. He waited a moment before he made his reply.

"Where did you hear it from?" he asked quietly.

"Sofia was telling Greg and Mia about it in the DNA lab, and-"

"Did she talk to you about it?"

"She didn't have to, she spelled it out loud and clear... She told Greg that the rest of the night was none of his business."

She turned from him, embarrassed, but he wouldn't give up. Taking her by the elbow, he turned her around again gently.

"Sara, look at me," he pleaded. "Sofia is an employee who was given the raw end of a deal. She didn't deserve the demotion and she knew it, so she was going to quit. I asked her to dinner because she was going on Ecklie's word, and you know as well as I do that Ecklie's full of shit... We ate, and we talked. That's all."

She looked up and met his pleading gaze, breaking his heart with the questions in her eyes. In a small childlike voice, she asked,
"Promise?"

He pulled her into a hug and held her tight. "I promise you... I didn't come three thousand miles and get off my flight home to get you back and then lie to you."

She pulled back, simply staring at him in awe and confusion. When speech came back to her, she managed, "You were on that flight? ... But they told me that it left five minutes before I got there."

"It did."

"Then, how-"

"I sat on that plane through the entire delay with every intention of returning to Vegas. But when I heard the announcement that we were about to take off, I realized that I couldn't leave you without giving it one last chance. So I got off the plane, prepared to let you go if that's what you wnated, but hoping to God that you'd come after me... and you did."

"You did all that for me?" she whispered.

He pulled her back in against himself, holding her tightly. "It was worth it."

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