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Chapter 13
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Suddenly, a noise from the hallway put her back on her guard. Raising her head, she kept her gaze on the doorway as she reached for her weapon. Movement in the doorway made her pause; anticipation, fear, sadness, confusion, and rage all coursed through her nerve-racked body, but it was the voice that made her heart skip a beat.
"Sara? ..."
She began to shake when she saw him enter the room. He came in sowly, weapon still raised, scanning the room and surveying the scene. When she came into his line of sight, he immediately holstered his weapon and rushed over to her, a tear of relief wetting her hair as he pulled her to his chest.
"Oh, Sara... Thank God you're alright..." Grissompressed her closeas she clung to him, her body still shaking. A second later, he pushed her back in panic and quickly looked her over. "Wait, are you alright?"
At this, the fear in her eyes softened a bit. "I'm okay," she assured him. "A little shaken up, but okay. ... What about you?"
The thunder rolled outside the shattered window as they both glanced down at his left arm, His gray shirt was stained red with blood near his shoulder.
"It's alright, really," he told her when she stared at him in shock and concern. "It just grazed me. I'm okay... Your wall, on the other hand, may need some patching up."
Her look of worry changed to one of relief and a small smile graced her features at his attempt at humor, but he could still sense the tension filling the room.
"Come on," he said, standing and helping her up. "We need to get you out of here."
Reminding her to leave her weapon and everything else exactly as it was, he led her from the room, out of the apartment, and down the hall.
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"Where are we going?" she asked as they left her apartment.
"Not far," he assured her. "I just want to make sure that you're alright."
"I told you, I'm fine."
Lightning flashed as he turned and sent her a serious stare. "Forgive me Sara, but you have a habit of saying you're fine when you're not."
Before she could respond, they stopped at the door to the apartment directly below Sara's.
"What are we doing here?" she asked.
He didn't respond. Instead, the door opened and he led her inside, revealing a bare front room containing only a chair, a table and two laptops. The man who had opened the door now closed and locked it behind them.
"Backup is on the way. They'll want to talk to you."
"Alright," Grissom answered. "Thanks, Carlton." Continuing to walk past him, Grissom led Sara by the hand to another room in the back of the apartment, furnished solely with a couch, a side table, and a lamp. "Sit down," he offered, closing the door.
Sara, who had been silent since they'd entered the apartment, now let loose with a mother load of questions as she paced the small room.
"What's going on here, Grissom? Who was that guy? What are we doing here? What did he mean by backup?"
"Calm down," he urged. Again he motioned for her to sit. When it was clear that she prefered to remain standing, he sighed. "His name is Vince Carlton. He works for the FBI Vegas headquarters, and he's here because I asked him to be."
This earned him an angry and confused stare. "You went over my head? Did you think I couldn't handle the case on my own?"
Holding up a hand, he pleaded, "No, I- please, just listen... When you broke down at the scene a few days ago, I knew there was something extremely wrong. Then you said that you knew the suspect, and after you told me what had happened and we started to work the scene, I began to realize what we were up against. So I called the FBI, thinking that they'd want to protect one of their own. They sent me Carlton."
"That still doesn't explain why he's here," she huffed.
"He's here because I knew that something like this would happen, Sara! McNabb followed you from Virginia when he realized he'd left a witness. That meant that he'd try to find you, and when he did he'd strike in the place you felt most safe. After I explained the situation to Carlton, he set this up. He bugged your apartment and your phones, set up video surveilance on your floor and your front door, and kept in close contact with me..."
She plopped beide him on the couch. When she finally spoke, it was almost as if she were musing to herself. "So... when I called you..."
"... I was here," he nodded. "Carlton had sensed some activity outside your apartment earlier today, and had called me, so after shift I followed you home and came here. Later, we heard him come into your room. You sounded like you had it under control so we just listened, but the storm got worse and interfered with the system..." He paused, running a hand through his already ruffled silver hair. "The lightning knocked out our audio system. When we couldn't hear you anymore, I started preparing for the worst... and then you called, and..."
"And you saved my life," she finished.
All he could do was nod, and for a whilenothing but the sounds of the storm outsideechoed in the little room. Neither dared look at the other as they pondered what could have happened. Suddenly, Grissom's pager went off. He looked at the number, and then at Sara.
"I should call Brass... You need to rest."
He got up to leave, but she reached out and grabbed his hand.
"Ignore it," she said pleadingly. "Stay with me..."
When he saw the fear in her eyes, he stopped, unable to move. It was painful and disconcerting to see her so completely vulnerable. He wondered if she could see him tremble, if she knew what that look did to him, how much control she had over his life. Finally, he moved away from the door and sat beside her once again, a lump rising in his throat.
Before he could think of what to do or say next, she leaned into him, laying her head on his chest, and fell asleep.
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A/N: please review! i need to know what you think so far... this is as far as i've written at the moment, and i can't post anymore till i figure out in my head exactly how i want it to end. it's hard to know what to do when you're writing blind... i need feedback on this one. ideas are also welcome! PLEASE REVIEW!