Grissom…that jerk. Just wait until I see him again…he's asking for it. Where the hell could he be? He's been gone for three hours! What happened- was he taking a leak and got lost? Come on!

He used to make me smile. Whenever I saw him a little light inside me would glow brighter than ever before. Grissom…I had always liked Grissom. Just like when I told him he had always been a little more than a boss to me. After the explosion, he checked on me. After the Debbie Marlin case, he was traumatized. I could tell.

I mean, I was too of course, but I was surprised at how much it affected him. He avoided me for so long afterwards. At first I thought he was just ignoring me, but then I noticed he was still dealing with what he had seen. That woman- sitting in the fetal position, neck drenched in blood. And she looked just like one of his coworkers.

But now, I could feel anger rising inside of me. He left me- why would he do that? He left me alone in a raging storm with a broken leg and a big-ass bruise on my head. I'm not one to complain, but right now I really needed his help. I really did.

My little blissful world has disappeared. I can no longer see the sunshine through the rain or the rainbow behind the clouds. I just lied there in the mud, trying my best to ignore the growing pain in my leg and the throbbing headache I was getting.

What would happen if Grissom never came back? What if I died right here? Everyone would probably remember me as 'the person who died in a pile of mud'. No, I'd be the obsessive workaholic with no life that died in a pile of mud. Yeah, that's more like it.

The land around me was now murky and damp. I sat up rubbing my head- damn, how it hurt. I braced myself again with my hands and prepared to get up.

I wasn't going to die here! I wasn't—

You know that feeling you get when all your hopes are crushed and thrown in the dirt? When that one person you despise most just spits on your pride and laughs at you? And you can't do anything about it? That's how I felt at this moment. I took a step, guessing where I put my feet. Bad decision.

I felt around for a tree or anything I could grab to support myself. It was dark and I couldn't see a thing between the winding wind and the quickening rain that was becoming heavier each second. I lifted my foot and stomped into the dirt, and that was when it happened.

I slipped. Yeah, that's how it went. I was closer to getting out of this hellhole and I slip. That's great, isn't it?

Well, I tumbled down a hill, feeling the skin on my legs and arms getting cut and bruised as I fell down. I landed right on a rock. I cried out in pain as the edge of the rock made contact with my right side. What's worse is I think I heard a crack…great.

"GRISSOM!" I called out in between breaths.

I got no answer except for the cold wind that followed after I called his name. I felt a warm liquid trickle down my forehead further down my face. I could tell right away that it was blood. I was lost, injured, and I couldn't move on my own. I felt so helpless.

What is this? I'm moving? Where am I? Who's carrying me?

I heard a muffled voice as I regained consciousness.

Is it Grissom? I swear if it is, I'm going to give him a mouthful when he puts me down…

Again I heard the muffling.

This wasn't Grissom. I could tell. I opened my eyes.

"You're awake now?"

This definitely wasn't Grissom. This was a man, however. He had green eyes and jet-black hair. He also had a large scratch under his right eye.

"Who are you?" I asked a bit dazed.

"I was just about to ask you the same thing."

I could tell from the tone in his voice he meant business. He almost sounded intimidating. Almost.

"You talk first- you're the one who's carrying me."

The man sighed and stopped. He looked down at me and wiped a drop of blood from my face with a handkerchief.

"My name is Roy Stevens, I live around this area. I had been going for a hike when the storm struck. I heard a voice in the distance—decided to investigate."

I nodded, signaling to him to continue on.

"And that's when I saw a little brunette lying in a pile of mud and rocks, unconscious in the storm."

I smiled. "Well, I suppose I should be thanking you."

He shook his head. "Later. You're in pretty bad shape."

I didn't realize how much pain I was in until he brought it to my attention. Every time I took a breath my side was burning- I think I had broken one of my ribs. And, my leg was still hurting as much as it could.

I looked around. The storm had calmed. The rain had stopped, but the wind was still blowing. I wasn't cold- the man had wrapped his jacket around me and it kept me warm, not to mention it was drying my damp clothes.

He kicked the door open to a small house out of the way. He walked inside and set me down on a big green couch. He tossed me a blanket.

"Go ahead- warm yourself up."

His tone had changed. Before, his tone had been sweet and welcoming. Now it was a cold hard mumble.

My head was still bleeding and he threw me some rubbing alcohol and a box of bandages.

"Clean yourself up."

I stared at him as he turned his back on me and headed into his garage. I went ahead and cleaned the cuts on my arms and legs and cleaned my forehead. Something didn't feel right- I didn't know if it was the eerie feeling I got when I first saw him or the sudden change in tone of his voice.

Well, my curiosity got the better of me. I waited to make sure he wasn't coming back anytime soon and I stood up, using the items and furniture around me for support so I could walk. I winced; my side was killing me, though I knew if I wrapped my stomach to keep the rib from moving out of place any more, I would risk getting pneumonia.

I limped around the house, looking around for anything suspicious. I moved some picture frames and lamps around, as I looked for anything- anything to let me know this guy was bad news. I almost screamed when I saw a red liquid dripping off of a bath towel on the back counter in his utility room. It was blood. I could tell.

But what did it come from? I moved a few more things around and I saw what I was looking for.

A jagged knife was sitting on the top shelf of his laundry room. It still had a few blood smears on it. I could smell copper in the air as the blood dripped onto the floor from the towel. This guy was dangerous.

Wait a minute- the 419 Grissom and I had been called out to was a stab-wound victim. Could this possibly be our guy? But…if he had killed someone, why did he not kill me? Does he not know that I am associated with the LVPD? Does he not know I am a CSI?

I heard some footsteps growing closer. I went as fast as I could back to the couch. I plopped down as fast as I could.

He sat down in front of me. "…So…who the hell are you, bitch?"

I stared at him. Yep, he was definitely not good news.

"I, uh…" I didn't know what to say. If I told him my real name he might notice who I was from the news or somewhere. Damn those reporters. I swear, sometimes I wish I could just…

"Spit it out," he said with a firm tone.

"Oh, yeah, um…my name is Susan Bryce. I work at an insurance company in Vegas…I needed a little me-time."

He actually bought it. He just nodded. "Well, Susan…" he stood up and noticed a moved picture frame. He turned to look at me. "Did you move anything?"

I felt another lump in my throat forming. "No, I was just admiring your photo. Do you have a family?"

The picture showed two kids- one about eight months old and the other appeared to be about seven-years-old. He was also in the picture- younger, and there was a blonde woman standing next to him holding the baby.

"Oh, uh…no, not anymore."

I actually felt a little bad for the guy.

"They pissed me off, so I killed 'em."

I was in shock. He grinned.

"I'm kidding! What kind of heartless bastard do you take me for?" he got a good chuckle.

I was still freaked out. I found a bloody knife in his house! How could I trust him?

"Heh, you know, my wife, her throat was slit…" he said sitting next to me. I almost cried out.

"A nice, deep thin cut…" he said tracing across my throat. "Nice…and deep…"

My eyes widened. He smirked.

"Don't be scared of me. I won't hurt you…" he said as he continued to trace a line across my throat.

For some reason, I doubted his word. Call me crazy, but I didn't feel like I was safe anymore. Where the hell was Grissom!