A sea of faces greeted Nick as he walked into the lab. He wondered why everyone was looking at him all of a sudden. The faces either seemed sympathetic or worried. Catherine walked up to greet him. She and Grissom shared supervisor status since Grissom was getting older and unable to handle the stresses of the lab. After marrying Sara, Grissom settled down with a woman who was equally passionate about her work as Grissom was. And Catherine and Warrick got married two months after Nick and Sara did.

"Hey," Catherine said walking with Nick. She took his arm and escorted him to her office, "We need to talk," she said.

"Yeah?" Nick figured she would want to talk to him about something or the other. Otherwise, she wouldn't have dragged him to her office. She sat down, and directed him to sit down as well.

"A couple of days ago, a girl was kidnapped from her home. She's a normal girl who is in first grade. Her name is Laura Walcott. We've tried to track her down all over the country and finally located her in Cincinnati OH. There was a crime scene with her blood present. Just a little bit though. There were three strands of DNA in the blood and around. The first was Laura's, the second's was a male's, and the third person's blood was…." Her voice trailed.

"Whose?" Nick asked.

"Sara's," Catherine said after a while. Nick sat up in the chair.

"What?"

"Nick, we think Sara may still be alive. The blood wasn't refrigerated, and it seemed to be pretty healthy. Don't jump to results though," Catherine put her hand on top of Nicks.

"Why are you telling me this now?" Nick asked, "Why not find her and surprise me?'

"Nick, can you go to Cincinnati?" Catherine asked.

"What?"

"Please, just go to Cincinnati and find Sara and Laura and bring them back. Warrick and Greg will come with you. Don't tell them about Sara though," Catherine warned.

"Why not?"

"Because we don't want to give them false hope. I wasn't even supposed to tell you" Catherine said.

"Then why the hell did you tell me?"

"Because, she's your wife. You have raised your three kids, and she may be under a lot of torture. You love her so much, and I've witnessed your change throughout the year." Nick knew she was right. He had a lot more grey in his hair, and he could see more wrinkles in his face. But he had just been given the most paramount news. His wife, alive, was she kidnapped? Did she leave on her own accord? He refused to believe the latter. Why would she leave? It was a small fight; he didn't even remember the details.

"I'll do it," He said. Catherine smiled slightly.

"Bring her back," she said, "Your flight leaves in an hour," Catherine said.

"What about my clothes?"

"Greg brought them over," Catherine answered.

"How did he know?"

"Because soon after you left, I called your home. Christina packed your things and Greg picked them up," Catherine said smartly. Nick was about to walk out, but he remembered something.

"What about the kids? I can't just leave them. Granted, Christina is eighteen," Nick was rambling on and on. Catherine put her hands on his shoulders.

"Nicky, relax, I have them staying with me. I mean, Melanie and Rachel could have some company. And what would Kayla do without her best friend?" Catherine talked about her daughters. Melanie was nine, and Rachel was fifteen, Kayla was Christina's age. They were best friends, and they were never apart. Nick always told Christina to hang out with more people, but no matter how much he tried, they just wouldn't. That was the extent of their friendship.

"Thanks," Nick said. He took the tickets and saw Greg lugging the suitcases.

"Hey Greg," Nick said, clapping his hand on Greg's back. Greg fell forward with both his and Nick's suitcases. Nick couldn't help but laugh, "Greg," he said, "We're leaving now anyway, you could've left them in the car." He held out his hand to help Greg up. Greg looked at the proffered hand and when he grabbed it, he pulled so hard that Nick fell down as well. Greg smiled as Nick glared at him playfully.

"Won't you ever grow up?" Nick asked. In return, Greg stuck his tongue out. It was so funny to see a forty year old acting like that, that Nick burst out laughing even more. Warrick walked down.

"Wow," he said, "You guys better calm down, I hear Ecklie is pretty pissed," He helped them both up. Ecklie walked up to Nick.

"Hello Stokes, I hope you're doing well," He said, concern evident in his eyes.

"I'm fine," Nick suppressed his grin.

"Well, if you need anything, my office is always open," Ecklie walked away. Greg and Warrick's jaw dropped.

"What was that about?" Warrick asked. Nick shrugged, although he knew. They all went to the airport in Warrick's car. They laughed, and reminisced about life, Greg and Warrick always managed to steer away from the topic of Sara. It wasn't because Nick was there. It was because they missed her as well. They got into the plane and flew to Cincinnati.

Snow stuck to the windows of the airplane, and ice seemed to cling to the side. It was going to be freezing. The airport seemed to be made of ice and snow. The people directing the plane were literally waddling because they were so bundled up. Nick, Warrick, and Greg only had a jacket.

"I have a feeling we'll need more than this," Warrick said.

"I know," Greg agreed. Nick was lost in his own thoughts. Sara was out here on the other side of the country for eight years. Eight years was too long for anyone to be away from his or her home. Eight years, and Alyssa could walk, talk, read, write, and even ride a bike. Eight years and Emily had started dating, gone to high school, and go through many changes. Eight years and Christina had been accepted to Stanford. Eight years was too long, but now was better than never!