A/N: I've always wondered if it was Grissom who called 911 or someone else. And thankyou to Trace and her spelling OCD.
Spoilers throughout for: Grave Danger, Nesting Dolls, Mea Culpa and Play With Fire.
Sara sat in the SUV fidgeting, hoping to high heavens that everything would go down safely. She felt more a teenager hopped up on too much caffeine then an adult doing her job. It was impossible for her to sit still knowing the Grissom was going into that rustic, run-down building to put a million dollars in the hands of a criminal mastermind. That criminal mastermind had already snatched one of her friends and she would not be able to stand it if something happened to Grissom; the man with whom she had been comfortably flirting with mere hours ago, the man who had held her hand as she cried about her violent past, who had drawn her in and then pushed her away just as quickly over the past five years.
Grissom was fetching the duffel bag out of the trunk. Sara pulled herself out of her memories and got out of the car. She watched him close the trunk door, lines etched into his face, lines of frustration and stress. Grissom was always a man who cared impossibly deeply about his team and the present time was no exception. Though Ecklie had separated them not too long ago, Nick and Warrick still meant so much to him, Sara knew that much. She lent against the body of the automobile as he approached her, straps of the bag in hand. He came to stop a couple of feet in front of her and sighed deeply, attempting to release all of his anxiety, anger and worry in his breath. Sara looked him in the eyes, as he did her and they were connected for a few seconds before he shifted his weight nervously. She knew he was thinking that it could be any of the six of them in that glass tomb. She knew that he would sooner put himself in the coffin rather than Nick, given the choice.
"Be careful," she lifted her head to meet his penetrating gaze.
"He wants to hurt us emotionally Sara, not physically," he continued to look at her intently. She found his sudden, undivided attention to her a bit intimidating but it captured her,
"Just be careful," she pleaded mystically with him.
"I will be. Everything will be fine, he reassured her. They fell silent for a few seconds, their magnetic electricity keeping them rooted in their positions, and then Grissom gave a small nod and walked to the decaying entrance. She turned and saw him, standing in front of the stairs, praying silently that the terrible ordeal was about to endShe kept her eyes trained in his direction until he had entered the decrepit building. She then hoisted herself back into the car to wait.
She hadn't really wanted to come with him but she was the first person he had run into after the money had been dropped on his desk. He knew in the back of his mind that there was a good chance that he would need backup and he was in a hurry. The desperate look on his face when he had asked her made her say yes even though she knew it would be tough for her to sit by and wait while he interacted with a dangerous man. They may have never acted upon their attraction, not since the lab explosion, but they both saw it, quite clearly on some occasions. Sometimes she would sit at home at night, distracted from her most recent book by the vivid, unobstructed thoughts, fantasies and emotions about their friendship, relationship or whatever comes inbetween. She would put in a classic movie and brew some tea to clear her thoughts and then start all over at the beginning of the next shift. She had absolutely no possible idea where he stood when it came to their issue. She didn't know whether or not he wanted to pursue a relationship, whether or not he was even emotionally capable. There had to be some reason that he was so resistant to developing something more between the two of them. She desperately wished that sometime in the future they could talk about all of this and call it a stupid stage but as the years drew on that wish became dimmer and dimmer.
A deafening shatter startled Sara. She jerked her eyes up to see the colored glass that was the windows flying away from the building. That could mean only one thing.
"Shit," she cursed, leaping out of the car and running for the door whilst trying to find her cell. She located it and dialed 911.
"This is CSI Sidle. I'm at 4672 Carney Lane and Boulder Highway. I need police, an ambulance and CSIs here," she rattled off to the operator. Once she had heard his confirmation, she snapped her phone shut and tiptoed into the building, gun drawn. She swept the building, ignoring the car and dog on the floor and making haste to the second "room" of the building. As soon as she entered, she turned to her left as she sensed movement. Grissom was half lying, half sitting, obviously in shock, crimson blood spattered on his pallid face.
"Grissom," she bent down at his side, "are you okay?" she managed to ask him in a shaky voice.
"Sara… he didn't give me the location," he whispered, barely audible. His eyes looked glazed over. There was no doubt in her mind at all that he was in serious shock. "Nick…"
"Is going to be fine; we'll find him. I believe in you, in our team. We're not ranked after Quantico for no reason. Look at me Grissom," when he didn't turn to meet her eyes, she took his face and turned it to face he. She promptly removed her hands but the feel of his beard continued to tickle her hands. His attention was to her so she continued, "you are not going to lose him. You are going to find him." He nodded unsurely but sat up properly. She fished around for a tissue or something to wipe the blood off of his face but retrieved nothing. "Wait here, I'm going to grab some Kleenex." She got up and went back outside. Sirens were in the distance now. She quickly picked up a box of tissues from the Denali and rushed back in to Grissom. He was now sitting against the blood-spattered walls. She knelt by his side once again and started to wipe the blood off his face. "You're not bleeding are you?" she asked him.
"I don't think so," he paused for a few seconds, examining her face," Thankyou Sara."
"Hey, no problem," she pushed some hair that had fallen into her face behind her ear, "We're all feeling this, we've just got to keep trying to find him," they continued to glance at each other as she cleaned him up.
A few minutes later, the emergency services busted into the building.
"We have to work the scene," Grissom attempted to stand up. Sara helped him up, their hands interlocked and he gave hers a quick squeeze before he let it go.
"I have to work the scene," Sara protested, "You have to get checked out." He didn't try to argue with her, simply walked to the ambulance as she started to properly observe the scene.
It was all over; they had found Nick safe and sound, for the most part. He was recovering in Desert Palm, safeguarded and sleeping peacefully. Sara was at her apartment, relaxing music playing, trying to release her tension over the recent events. She was sitting on the couch, eyes closed, when the sound of someone knocking startled her out of her reverie. She turned down the music and walked to the door. She opened it to reveal Grissom, Thai takeout in hand.
"Have you eaten?" he asked hopefully. She shook her head and stepped aside to let him in.
La Fin