By the time he reached the parking lot, she was gone. He scanned the street but didn't see her truck, and couldn't tell which way she had taken. He swore loudly, frustrated and utterly disgusted with himself that he hadn't been able to say anything to her. She was leaving, and it was all his fault. What had he done? He berated himself for being so stupid, for not talking to her earlier in the week. Catherine was right. He was a genius but had absolutely no people or relationship skills. He whipped out his cell phone and hit her speed dial number.

The shrill ring of her cell phone broke through her sobs. She pulled it from her pocket and saw his number on her call display. She disconnected and turned off her cell, throwing it into her backseat. She wiped her face with her hands, and put the truck into drive, wanting only to get back to the privacy of her own apartment.

She had hung up on him. He tried the number again, only getting that annoying voice saying the customer he was trying to reach was not available. Hanging up, he went back to his townhouse in defeat. He would try to talk to her at work the next night. Maybe she would just need some time to cool off.

She did not show up for shift the next night, nor the night after that. She called into Ecklie, informing him of her resignation and asking if she could take her final two weeks as vacation time, seeing as how she had so much built up. Ecklie asked her to finish whatever cases she was working on, and then she could leave when she wanted. He was glad to get rid of the "loose canon."

The team asked questions, lots of them. They couldn't understand what would make Sara so upset that she would just leave. Grissom tried to give them a plausible excuse, that the last case had finally taken its toll on her, and she needed a break.

Nick and Warrick called her, both trying to convince her to stay, promising that they would let her pick her cases, that they would willingly give her the best ones, even the career breaking opportunities. Greg came over, and she tried her best not to cry, and vowed to keep in touch with him. He was heartbroken that she was leaving. Even Catherine attempted to get her to stay. She apologized for ever making her feel unwelcome, and said that she would try to be nicer. She felt bad for all of them. She knew she was breaking up the family they had formed, but it would be impossible for her to work alongside of him any longer. She promised she would see them all before she left, but refused the going away party they offered to give her.

He sat in his office, surrounded by his bugs and notes. It was cold and lonely, and he was still mad at himself. He had taken to staying in there as much as possible over the last week and a half. The team seemed to notice his change in mood. He was no longer the Grissom they had once known, and they all knew it was because of her leaving.

The knock on his door startled him, and he rubbed his forehead calling out for whoever it was to come in. Catherine opened the door and poked her head in.

"Hey. Is this a bad time?" she asked.

"No," he mumbled.

"Seems like it's always a bad time lately," she replied, sitting in the chair in front of his desk.

He looked over the top of his glasses at her, "I'm just busy."

"Sure," she said flatly.

He looked at her as if to question her response.

"Who are you fooling Grissom? Of course there has been work to do, but instead of being involved all the time, you sit here in your office bemoaning the fact that Sara left."

"Pardon?"

"Something happened between you two. It couldn't have been just the case that set her off. You guys never talk like you used to, and now she just up and leaves. What went on?"

Grissom was again astounded by Catherine's ability to pick up on these kinds of things, and by how she seemed to know him so well. He cleared his throat, took of his glasses and tried to think of the best thing to say in response.

"We may have disagreed on something," he said hesitantly.

"I can see that happening, but there's something you're not telling me," she said, starring at him as if he was one of the specimens he kept in jars.

How would he explain this to her? Or put it tactfully? He glanced down at the papers on his desk, trying to avoid her stare. As his eyes shifted down, hers lit up in realization.

"She's always had a crush on you right? Wait…no…something personal went on when you were out of town."

He couldn't even look up at Catherine.

"Oh my…you didn't…" she couldn't say it.

He whipped his gaze back up to meet hers, silently telling her she better not go on talking or tell anyone anything.

"And then what did you do Gil? Let me guess. You avoided her right? You didn't acknowledge that something went on right?"

His mouth gaped. He hated that habit of not having his mouth connect with his brain.

"What's wrong with you!" she exclaimed.

"That's what Sara said," he finally answered.

"Well no wonder she's leaving. You just made a huge mistake."

"Then what do I do now?" he asked sheepishly.

"Go find her and apologize first, then maybe grovel, it might help."

"I don't think she wants to see or talk to me right now."

"Because she's upset, she has a right to be. But do you care about her?"

He was silent for a moment before answering, "Very much."

"Then what is your problem Grissom? If you care about her, and you obviously don't want her to leave, then its doing no good for you to be sitting here on your ass well she's packing her things. You know we are only given a few chances to find the love of our life, and true happiness, and you're just letting yours leave. Do you want that?"

"No," he answered quietly, finally realizing just how much Sara meant to him.

"Then go get her."

The drive to her apartment couldn't have taken any longer. He pulled into her parking lot and jumped out of the truck, taking the stairs as fast as he could. When he got to her door he stopped. What was he going to say? 'The obvious you idiot,' his brain seemed to answer in a very Catherine like way. He would tell her he loved her and that he was a foolish man to ever have treated her the way he had. Then he would ask her to stay, and not just in Vegas, but with him.

Taking a deep breath, he knocked on the door. He waited a few moments, but there was no answer. He knocked again. Again, no answer, no sound from within. He pulled out is cell and dialled her home number. He was told it had been disconnected. He tried her cell, but it was off. Where was she? He rested his head on her door in frustration. If he had to wait all day, he would.

"Are you looking for Sara?" an elderly woman asked, exiting her own apartment.

He looked up, a bit surprised to have someone watching him. He nodded.

"She left this morning," the woman said.

"To go where? Do you know when she will be back?"

"Oh she's not coming back. She said that she was able to get an earlier flight than what she had. She shipped her stuff, locked up and left."
"Where was she going?" he asked in shock.

"Chicago as far as I know."

"Thank you," he said, heading for the stairs.

Once back in his truck, he took out his cell again.

"Willows."

"How come no one told me that Sara was going to Chicago?"

"We thought you knew. Why? Didn't she tell you?"
"What do you think?"

"She still hates you. Right."

"Do you or any of the guys have a number or place I can reach her at?"

"No. She said that she was staying with a friend, and then when everything was settled she would forward us her new address."

"So there's no way to get a hold of her?"
"No, sorry Gil. And don't even think of getting on a plane to follow her.."
"What! I thought you said I had to find her to get her back."

"Ecklie will have your ass if you leave now. Besides, what good is it going to do to wander around Chicago if you don't know where she is? Let one of us talk to her first, and find out a good way for you to contact her."

He hated when Catherine was right, and pulled a u-turn to head away from the airport.

She had been in Chicago for nearly three weeks. An old friend from Harvard had hooked her up with a small apartment in their building and she was settling in to her new life. She was awaiting word of the position she had applied for with the Chicago crime scene investigation team, and figured that it shouldn't be hard to get it, she had come from the best lab in the country. She did miss Vegas though. She missed the warm weather, and her friends. It was fall in Chicago and during the day it was chilly, unlike the Vegas days of heat. And besides her homesickness of sorts, she had also been feeling ill for the last few days on and off. She figured she was fighting a bug, and hoped it would go away soon. She hadn't sent anyone her new address yet, opting to fully settle into a job and routine before letting them know how she was doing. She wanted them to know that she could do just fine on her own.

It had been three weeks since she'd left for Chicago, two since she quit and one since the night they'd spent together. Six weeks of him missing her, six weeks of him regretting letting her leave, and six weeks of wondering if she was alright. He was adjusting to not having her around in the lab, but when he was alone at his townhouse, he missed her the most. He would give anything to have her with him again.

It was a rainy, miserable night. The only reason she had ventured out in the cold, wet weather was to find some antacids to settle her stomach. It was pouring and the roads were slippery. She slowed her car down, and drove extra carefully, not wanting an accident. She saw the green light ahead, and began to make her way through the intersection. In the middle, she saw it coming, the headlights glaring at her through the passenger side window. It wasn't going to stop. There was a loud crash, and then everything went black.

The phone rang. It startled him. He had been reading over case files, and he looked at the phone again as it rang, almost as if it had intruded on his privacy, before picking it up.

"Grissom."

"Mr. Grissom, my name is Dr. Lockhart and I am calling in regards to Sara Sidle. You're name and number were on her cell phone, and so far, you're the only person I've been able to reach."

"Is she alright?" he asked, his voice full of concern.

"Miss Sidle has been in an accident, and she's currently in the ER at County General Hospital. We're trying to reach her next of kin. Are you or would you know of any family that we can call?"

"No…Sara has no family. She used to work with me, we were friends…" he said slowly, "Is she going to be ok?"

"She's pretty banged up, but should pull through. It was the baby we were more worried about, it's going to be touch and go for awhile. Would you know of anyone willing to come and be with Miss Sidle?"
He was speechless. What baby? Sara was pregnant?

"Mr. Grissom?"
"I'm in Las Vegas right now, but I'll be on the next flight to Chicago," he answered.

And the plot thickens! (lol) I absolutely could not resist putting in an ER cross-over section. I promise the story won't focus to much on ER, because the main focus of course, is Sara and Grissom. I've heard the rumours about Gum Drops being changed with no GSR action in it now, and I am really disappointed. I hope those are false rumours. And by the way; I love reviews, but flames will be disregarded and used as lining for the cat's litter box. If you don't like the story, at least say it nicely in the form of constructive criticism, or don't say it at all. And I did indicate the GSR pairing if you cared to read the spoilers section of the opening section of chapter one.

Anyways, let me know how I am doing, and the more reviews, the faster I write and post the next chapter. Thanks for all the great reviews so far! Byes, L