A/N: Thanks again for all the comments! I'm still so thrilled people are enjoying (and reading) the story thus far! This chapter is mostly the team's reactions. :)

Chapter Four: Always On Your Side

"R-Raped…?" Brass asked, almost dropping his Styrofoam cup filled with coffee. "…I don't understand," he told Warrick, though he knew there was no simpler way to put what the younger man on the phone had just told him.

"…She was raped, Jim. And I think it was at that address I just gave you…" Warrick said, swallowing hard. This is wonderful news for him! He's probably just sitting down to a cozy dinner, too!

"…How..?" Brass asked, still not registering what Warrick had just told him. "What…I…don't understand..." he said again.

"…She went out this week," Warrick said. "She got off on the wrong bus stop…and she ended up in one of the more dangerous parts of town…" Warrick sighed. "Some…guy…" Bastard. "Snuck up behind her…and…you can guess the rest," he sighed again. "We pulled over on the side of the road…and she freaked out. I really think that might be where it all went down."

"…Alright," Brass said. He really didn't know how he was able to find his voice again. "I'll…call Gil…"

"Thanks, Jim…" Warrick sighed.

"No problem…" Brass said. "…How's she doing?"

"I don't know…" Warrick said. "The doctors shooed me out for the…exam," he swallowed. "I'm outside right now…but…from what I saw…she looked really banged-up…" he whispered.

"Jesus…" Brass sighed. Ever since Brass had learned that his daughter Ellie pretty much wanted nothing to do with him, Sara had become sort of the daughter he never had. He always kept an eye on her…their bond was special. And now that he had learned about what happened to her, he wanted nothing more than to kill the son-of-a-bitch who hurt her.

"…I'm going to go back inside," Warrick sighed.

"Right…keep me posted…" Brass said, hanging up.

Warrick put his cell phone in his pocket and took a deep breath to steady his nerves. He couldn't help but feel that he was absolutely useless at the moment. He should be out at the scene, collecting samples and running them back to Wendy and Hodges. He shouldn't be standing outside doing absolutely nothing! That wasn't going to be of any help to Sara.

But Brass was going to call Grissom…who would call the rest of the team. And currently, Warrick really just wanted to be with Sara when she woke up. He didn't want to leave her alone…and he didn't want to be away from her. She needed someone with her right now, someone who would be by her side through this all…and so did he.

Warrick walked back through the doors of the hospital and past the waiting room, ignoring the nasty look the receptionist from before was sending his way. He walked over to the elevators and pressed the button, waiting for the doors to open. Once it had come down, he stepped inside and pressed the button for the second floor- the floor where the cafeteria was.

He waited impatiently as the elevator seemed to take an annoyingly long time. Finally the doors opened and he walked into the cafeteria, heading over to the coffee machine. He grabbed a small-size coffee cup, but then contemplated his choice for a moment.

Like you're really going to be getting any sleep anyways…you may as well go for the mega-duty size... Warrick thought to himself. Putting the small cup down, he grabbed the large cup and filled it with regular coffee, adding cream and sugar to it before putting some money on the counter and heading back to the elevators. He pressed the button and he stepped inside, heading back to the first floor- back to Sara.

As soon as the elevator doors opened, he saw the doctor from before walking out of the ER, wiping her forehead off with her sleeve. Warrick almost dropped his cup of coffee as he practically ran over to the doctor.

"How is she? Please…tell me she's okay…" Warrick said.

"She should be fine with plenty of rest…" the doctor sighed. Warrick sighed in relief. "Someone did a number on her, but she's stable."

And I'm going to kill the bastard, Warrick thought.

We ran a cat scan to make sure she didn't have a concussion. Everything looked okay, though she has a nasty bump on her head that I'm sure hurts like hell…" she said. "We gave her some painkillers, and she should be out for about another hour or two."

"Can I see her?" Warrick asked.

"I'm afraid the SART nurse is just finishing up…" the doctor said. "She will be done in just a moment, and then you will be free to go into her room."

Warrick just nodded, before a thought struck him. "…You removed the restraints, right?" The doctor just nodded. "Okay…" Warrick sighed. "Thanks."

Grissom arrived at the Winston Street address Brass had given him and he pulled his car over to the side of the road as yellow crime-scene tape was being placed around the old run-down building. He jumped out and grabbed his kit, walking over to the scene and pulling the tape up over his head to allow him entrance. As he put on a pair of gloves, he immediately frowned at what he saw- a drop of blood near the door, what looked to be a smudge of a semen stain on the frame…

"Gil…"

Catherine's voice made Grissom jump as he turned around and was greeted by the rest of the team. They all had the exact same expression on their faces.

"Hey…" Grissom sighed.

"How's she doing?" Nick spoke up.

"Warrick said she's asleep at the hospital," Grissom answered. "He's going to keep us posted…"

"I…just can't believe…" Greg mumbled. "Who would want to hurt Sara?"

"…Crime of opportunity, maybe…" Catherine sighed.

"Luckily this guy's pretty stupid," Grissom said. "He's left a lot of himself behind, judging from what I can see without the AV. Nick, Greg? I want you two to go to Sara's apartment and process. Catherine, you're with me."

Nick and Greg nodded and walked off, disappearing around the corner as they walked to their cars.

"I'll take the perimeter…" Catherine sighed, walking off toward the alley.

Grissom nodded and kneeled down, opening his kit. Getting out two swabs, he took a sample of the blood on the ground (after making sure it really was indeed blood), and then took a sample of the semen smudge. After putting them in their rightful places, he got to his feet, grabbed his feet and ventured inside.

The inside of the building was a complete mess, though it was not very surprising seeing how it was an old building. Grissom could tell something definitely went on in here recently, however…

He saw ripped clothing on the floor and a small puddle of blood, which was all he needed to see to confirm his doubts that this was in-fact the primary crime-scene. Picking up his phone, he called Catherine.

"What's up…?" Catherine asked from the other line.

"I've got blood, semen, and ripped clothes…" Grissom said. He could hear Catherine sigh from over the phone.

"So did I- minus the ripped clothes."

"You sound disappointed…" Grissom frowned.

"Gil, this is Sara we're talking about," Catherine said. "Sara…" she said again, as if for confirmation. "...I…can't stand to be sitting here, just imagining how much she suffered from what that bastard did to her."

Grissom sighed. "I know, Catherine, and I feel the exact same way. But we're going to find him…we have more than enough evidence from what I can see with my naked eye. Plus the evidence from the…rape kit…" he sighed.

"Right…" Catherine said. "…I'll page you if I find anything."

"This place definitely belongs to Sara," Greg said with a small smile to try and lighten the mood a bit as they entered through the door of Sara's apartment. "It's a lot cleaner than my place."

"Clean…organized…and still with its own unique style," Nick smiled, looking around the living room. "That's Sara's work, alright…"

"…So…" Greg sighed. "It doesn't look like anything's disturbed in here, or the kitchen," he said, walking through the kitchen doorway.

"According to Grissom, Warrick said that he found everything in the bathroom…" Nick said, heading down the hallway.

"Right…" Greg mumbled, following after Nick. "I just still don't get it, Nick. Sara would never hurt anyone, who would do such a thing? She's always had everyone's back whenever they needed her- she's always been there for me. She's a great person and friend, she's smart, she's…independent…"

"That…doesn't matter to these guys, Greg," Nick frowned, cracking the door of the bathroom open, immediately turning away once he caught a glimpse of what was inside.

"Holy shit…" Greg whispered, looking down at the blood and torn clothing inside that had been discarded on the floor.

"…She kept it all here, in one piece. Even after everything that had happened to her, Sara still knew to preserve the evidence…" Nick said, smiling just a little.

Warrick headed into the ER after the SART nurse had walked through the doors and OK'd it. After rounding a few corners and passing a few doors, he found Sara's room with the door open and walked through it.

Sara looked a doll amongst the white room. All that was visible was her head and neck and her arms lay on top of the covers, one of which an IV drip was connected to. She looked…relatively better- Warrick could tell the nurses and doctors had tried to clean her up a bit. She was still sleeping, but at least she looked peaceful, Warrick thought.

He took a seat in the chair next to her bed and set his coffee cup down on the small table connected to her bed rail. He folded his hands over one another and leaned back, observing her sleeping form.

She's an angel in disguise, I swear…look at her…through everything's she's been through, she's still…perfect, Warrick thought to himself. She's beautiful…despite her cuts and bruises she's still beautiful. I don't know of many people who can pull that off… he thought, small smile forming across his lips.

Then Warrick thought that this really wasn't the best setting for him to be having these kinds of thoughts in. But why was he having these thoughts…?

Was it because…he…

No, of course not. Sara's my friend, we're just friends and nothing more. We have a work relationship… Warrick actually considered this for a minute. He had never really thought about it before. …What if you do…

…love her?

At that moment Warrick felt a small vibration from the bed and he immediately looked up at Sara. She had started stirring and she scrunched her face up as she got ready to open her eyes and try to adjust to the blinding light in the room. An eye cracked open, followed by another, and she licked her dry lips as her eyes scanned the room and locked themselves on Warrick sitting next to her.

"Hey…" Warrick said.

"Hey…" she whispered, her voice hoarse. "Can I have some water…?"

"Yeah, of course…" Warrick said, getting to his feet and heading to the sink. Grabbing a paper cup, he turned the faucet on; making sure the water was cold before he filled the cup up. He walked back over to her and handed her the cup.

"Thanks…" Sara whispered, taking the cup from him and leaning forward to drink from it. Warrick watched Sara try to sit up and felt himself tearing-up; watching her squirm around and wince involuntarily every few moments was more pitiful than her whimper from before when he had set her down on her hospital bed and let go of her.

"Here, let me help you," Warrick told her. Sitting down next to her, he pulled his chair closer to her bed and held the cup up to her lips. "Lean your head forward just a bit…" he instructed her.

Sara did as he said and leaned forward until the cup was pressed against her lips. He tilted it back to allow her to get some water and she quickly gulped it down. "Would you like some more?" he asked her.

She shook her head. "No thanks, I'm okay now…"

"Okay…" Warrick said, setting the empty cup down on the table. "…How are you feeling?"

"Not feeling," Sara corrected. With a small smile, she added, "I can't feel as much pain…these drugs are good."

Warrick laughed. "Well…I'm glad, then."

"…Did you stay here the entire time?"

Warrick nodded. "Yeah…you didn't want me to leave, and…quite frankly, I didn't want to leave you, either," he said with a small smile.

Sara smiled a little, grabbing his hand and squeezing it softly. "Thanks, Warrick."