I was worried. I had been worried since I saw him turn his back on me and disappear behind that tree. It wasn't rare for someone to be worrying about Grissom. He never did anything to make people worry that often.

"Grissom!" I called his name. I got to my feet; at the moment forgetting my leg was broken. I took a step and then collapsed. I looked around, as if to try to spot anyone to see if they saw me. I felt embarrassed and no one was there. I could tell my self-conscious was laughing at me.

I winced as I tried to move my leg. I wasn't going anywhere. The officers weren't going to find me. And now, to make things even worse, Grissom had taken off.

"Gil!" I called him by his first name. No response. I sighed as I lay down on the ground, looking up at the now grayish sky. Wait- the sky was gray. Was there going to be a storm?

My stomach dropped as I felt a lump form in my throat. I suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion fall over me. I don't know exactly what brought it on, but I let the sleepiness drift me off to a soft slumber.

Drip, drop, drip, and drop- then it came down in a steady flow. I didn't notice what was happening at first until I rubbed my head with my hand and noticed I was sopping wet. My hair was sticking to my face and I could feel the little droplets of water sliding down my face. I sat up and looked around.

There were no clouds in the sky and now it was pouring down rain. Grissom was nowhere to be seen. I was startled at the sound of thunder crashing. It sounded near and I yelped when it struck again. I took a deep breath.

It was just thunder. I'll live. But I had second thoughts a few moments later when I saw a flash of lightning. I was scared out of my mind.

I felt like a little kid hiding under the kitchen table, clinging to the leg of the table for dear life. That would never happen. If it were true, I would've had a mother to come and comfort me and just tell me it was thunder and lightning and that it would be okay. Crap-me, Sara Sidle, or anyone in the Sidle family, had no idea what the hell nurturing or love was.

I decided to move. My mind and gut told me to move. I couldn't. My leg was broken and I couldn't stand. I found myself doing the first thing that came to mind.

"Grissom!"

I called his name, but I got no answer. As a matter of fact, I could barely here my own voice. The wind was violently strong now, and all I heard was thunder and lightning in the distance. I put my head down in defeat.

I was running through the rain. I could feel the mud that I was stomping through from the pathetic soles on my shoes. My hair was sticking to my body and I was a mess, but I didn't care. I kept running, hearing in the distance the voice of my father calling my name. I kept running. I couldn't turn back.

I came back to reality. What the hell just happened? Am I going to die here? Was this my life flashing before my eyes?

"Sara!" my father yelled calling me. I was in tears, but if anyone saw me they wouldn't be able to tell because of the heavy rain.

I remembered this. I shuddered at the thought. I felt a chill run down my spine as I thought back to it.

I felt adrenaline pumping through my body. I just had to keep running. I wasn't going back. I wasn't going back to my house- not after what I had just seen.

They were yelling and screaming at each other. I was right in the middle of it, although I was smart enough to back away and keep my mouth shut. I screamed when I saw my father strike my mother across the face. I ran out of the house and then there was nothing.

I found myself running aimlessly through the streets and the park. I ran wherever I could- as long as I could get away from the truth, from reality. I tripped and screamed again when I found my father running up to me.

"Stay away from me!" I yelled, kicking and screaming as my father kneeled down by me.

"Sara, stop it," he said grabbing my shoulders, trying to calm me down.

"Leave me alone!" I screamed again, trying to free myself of his grasp. He hugged me. I was calmed at the warmth I felt. I wrapped my arms around him crying.

"Why'd you do that, dad?" I asked in between sobs.

He sighed. "Sara…I'm sorry, mom and I just got into a small fight. It's okay, don't worry about it."

I looked up at him. "Are you going to apologize to mommy?"

He grinned and nodded. "Yeah. I will."

He squeezed me tighter, whispering in my ear, "It's okay, Sara. It'll all be okay. Things will get better. I promise."

I laughed. I actually laughed. I was laughing at myself. I was so stupid- how could I have believed him? How gullible was I? It was a lie. I felt the warm tears streaming down my face as I laughed at my pathetic self.

"Look at yourself, Sidle!" I said this aloud. "What happened to you? You believed him! You actually believed him, you idiot! Then what happened? Your mom killed him! He was the closest thing you had to a friend! You hated him for what he did to your mom but he was still the best thing that ever happened to you!"

I dug my nails into the mud on the ground. I stared at it. I felt no better than the mud under my nails. Grissom was nowhere to be seen. I couldn't walk. I had nowhere to go. But I remembered something my father told me.

"Sara, I want to ask you something," my father said looking in my eyes.

"What is it, daddy?" I asked looking at him.

"I…want you to promise me, that even when I'm gone, that you'll be strong for me. Can you do that?" he asked with seriousness in his tone.

"Yes, daddy. I'll do it for you." We hugged tightly and I could feel his tears running down my back as they dripped onto my shirt.

"Thank you, Sara. I love you, sweetheart."

I blinked. Dad wanted me to be strong. I wasn't going to let this stop me- Grissom or no Grissom; I was getting out of here.

I braced myself with my hands and got to my feet. I put all my weight on my good leg and took a step- so far so good. I took another step, keeping my broken leg suspended in the air. I was getting along okay.

I actually caught myself almost dancing as I went along. I was dancing on one leg- I'm sure I looked stupid. I didn't care. No one was there to see me anyways and I wouldn't have minded if they saw me anyway. For me, this was therapy.

I had a tune playing in my head. It was a song dad and I used to sing when mom wasn't home. He'd sing it to me while I sat in his lap and then he'd have me sing the rest of it.

"The butterfly didn't get its beautiful wings without effort."

I could hear his voice in my head as I limped along.

"Egypt's empire did not grow over night."

I could hear myself laughing in the background between his singing and the rain at the present time.

"And the statue of liberty wasn't built in one evening, but boy, oh boy if it was…"

And I smiled as I remembered the rest of the song.

"I'd be climbing over mountains and flying through the sky- the sky's the limit no more."

"I'd be known all around to world from Tamales Bay to Pompeii."

I had to laugh at his rhyme.

"And I'd live the life of a king, never troubled with limitations."

"And I'd sail across the world until I crossed the nations," I took over.

"And God gave us a life to live; so why am I not living? It takes more than a minute to say…that everyday gives us a limit, which we must surpass and when we cannot…"

My dad butted in.

"We'll all pass gas."

I could hear myself laughing harder than I ever had in my life. I smiled and actually started laughing as I was limping along. I laughed so hard I had tears in my eyes. I even laughed when I tripped and fell into a large pile of mud on the ground. Nothing could bring me down right now; I was lost in my own blissful world. This world was perfect; everything else could wait.