Well, this is almost the end. Let's all cry together guys. Haha. No, we won't cry over this story, because it's not over. What I'm putting together is a story called "Chasing Hope", which is Anna's memoir; in essence, having all the details in it that I left out of this one (I mentioned those details in last chapter's note). Are you guys excited? I am! Anyway, this chapter is going to be one that contains a squee-fest for all of you who like Flack and Anna together. And you'll all be going, at the end of the chapter: "Why didn't you keep them together!" Well, Anna shall explain that to her kids in the epilogue. Until then, keep those reviews coming! Disclaimer: Don't own the title. Another amazing song by Barlowgirl, if you wanna check it out!

Chapter Twenty-Six: She Walked Away

"Alright, Dad, you can't just leave it at that," Eva said in a straight tone. Greg nodded.

"Good observation. But I didn't know if your mother wanted to finish the story." He looked over at me, and I shrugged, but then smiled, thinking of something.

"Would you kids object to both of us finishing the story?"

The kids looked at each other and shook their heads. I turned to Greg.

"So, I'll start with when I woke up, and you can chime in after that."

"Sounds good," he said with a smile.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I felt quite groggy as I managed to open my eyes. The first thing that met my eyes were bright lights. I wondered for a moment if I was dead. My body felt extremely heavy and I couldn't remember where I was or how I got there. I squinted at the florescent lighting above me. If I really am dead, I need to remind God to change the lighting. Opening my eyes further, I realized that I actually wasn't dead, but was propped up in a hospital bed, IV running through me. I always hated needles.

I blinked and yawned, wondering if I had been asleep for a while. The sun was out, scattering rays of sunlight across my bed. I felt very warm. Blinking, I looked around the room and tried to remember what had happened. I noticed a figure, slumped over in a chair near my bed.

"Don?" I asked weakly. The man stirred and yawned, looking over towards the door. When he realized that the sound was not coming from there, he turned his blue eyes to my face. "Don…" I said, quieter. It wasn't a question this time, but a statement. Flack rose from his chair and kneeled beside my bed. He reached out and took my hand in his, lacing his fingers with mine.

"Anna, sweetheart?" he asked tentatively. He had never called me 'sweetheart' before. I looked at him with curiosity.

"Did you just call me sweetheart?" I asked with raised eyebrows. Flack's eyes were searching mine.

"You remember who you are, though, right? You recognized your name when I called you Anna?"

I furrowed my eyebrows. "Of course I remember. I'm Annabelle Leah Price. Why wouldn't I remember my own name?"

Flack continued with the questions. "Do you remember what happened yesterday?"

I studied his face for a moment, and tried to recall what had happened. I closed my eyes and saw faces, colors; patterns swirl before me, all of them unfocused. And then, the images became clearer.

"A woman with fiery eyes, a man with a knife, a black car, a red truck, candles, a table, and someone talking to me…" I mumbled in one breath. I looked at Flack, whose blue eyes were studying my face intently.

"You were kidnapped, Anna," he stated. I furrowed my eyebrows together, and the mental images formed a film in my mind, replaying all of the prior day's events. My eyes widened and I gripped Flack's hand tighter.

"Oh my God, I remember it now," I said in a hushed whisper. Flack brought his other hand up and placed it on the side of my face. "Why, Detective? Can't bear to watch your precious Anna being touched by someone else?"

I flinched as Flack's hand touched the side of my face. He brought his hand immediately back down, looking torn. "I'm sorry, Anna, I shouldn't have done that. I overlooked your feelings and after what happened yesterday at the warehouse…"

Without saying anything, I took Flack's other hand and moved it back to my face, smiling. "It's alright. It's you. I trust you." Flack smiled and brushed the hair out of my face with his hand. I felt my breath caught in my throat.

"I…" he began, playing with a strand of my hair, "I…wanted to…to tell you something," he started awkwardly. I watched him advert his blue eyes from my own eyes. He's so cute when he's flustered, I think to myself with a smile.

"Yes, and?" I asked, urging him to continue. He moved his hand off of my face – to my slight disappointment – and instead, placed it on my hand. I felt secure then, with both of his warm hands holding my one hand.

"I was thinking about what happened at the warehouse, and…"

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

I walked back from the cafeteria with Grissom, a warm cup of coffee greeting my lips as I made my way towards Anna's room. Flack had insisted on staying with her all night; just to make sure that she was okay. The nurses, eventually, agreed, and Flack set up camp on the chair beside Anna's bed.

I peered in through the window and saw that Anna was awake. Grissom smiled next to me.

"Look's like she'll be alright," he said, not looking directly at me. Grissom was strange that way: he would seemingly be talking to you, and yet never look at you.

"Yeah, she will be," I said with confidence. Grissom raised his eyebrows at me – a trademark of his – and just sipped his coffee with a smile.

"What? What's that look for?" I asked. Grissom looked at me out of the corner of his eye.

"You like her, don't you?" he asked. For someone who had no visible love life of his own, Grissom could sure be nosey. I shook my head solemnly.

"No. No, Grissom…I don't…I can't…"

Grissom smirked, watching my conflicting feelings with utmost enjoyment. It had to be a hobby of his or something: making my life miserable. I looked at Anna and Flack who were holding hands and who seemed to be engrossed in conversation. I don't like Anna, I don't like Anna, I don't like Anna, I repeated to myself. There was no way that I could fall for a girl whom I had just met, a girl who – by the looks of it – was happily involved in a relationship. I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. No, I couldn't like her.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

"…I just wanted to tell you something," Flack said, not looking directly at me. If he hadn't sounded so serious, I would have laughed. The poor guy was obviously having a hard time saying what was on his mind. I squeezed his hand and he looked up.

"Just tell me," I said with a twinkle in my eyes. Flack sighed and stood up, taking one of his hands and running it through my hair, all the while, his eyes focused on some distant object. When he looked down at me again, I met his gaze.

"I love you," he said in a whisper. "And I realized that when you were taken. I realized how stupid it was for me to hold it in all of this time, because I want to take care of you, to protect you. You mean the world to me, Anna."

I felt my eyes grow misty as he brought his lips to my forehead. He was really in love with me. After that initial shock wore off, I opened my mouth and felt my words tumble out.

"I was so scared," I said, tears beginning to run down my face. Flack let go of my hand and brought both of his hands to my face, cupping my chin and wiping my tears away. "I was scared because I thought of all of the people that I would never see again, and I was afraid to lose them…"

"I was afraid I was going to lose you," Flack said, eyes searching mine. I smiled a little bit and put both of my hands on top of his.

"Now, normally I don't like clichés, but Flack," I started, staring at his bright blue eyes, "even if you tried you could never lose me." Flack smiled, but I continued. "I love you."

For a moment, we were both silent, my hands on top of Flack's, still cupped under my chin. We stared at each other and both smiled. Then, Flack leaned in and brushed my lips with his. He pulled back and I beamed at him, heart melting. I'm in love, I thought to myself. I'm really in love.

"Thank you for always being there for me," I said honestly. He brought his hands away from my face and sat back down in his chair, still smiling. He opened his mouth to say something, but at that moment, a knock on the door interrupted him.

"Good morning sunshine!" Danny said with a smile. I rolled my eyes at him, trying to contain my laughter.

"I was having a nice moment until you ruined it Messer," I bluntly told him. Danny raised his eyebrows, looking back and forth between Flack and me. Danny then turned to Mac, who had just come into the room, and whispered loud enough so that I could hear:

"Yep, she's back to normal."

I giggled, but threw a dirty glance at Danny nonetheless. He merely stared back at me and shrugged. "Okay, well, if you don't want your present…" I noticed that he was holding a Starbucks cup behind his back.

"Wait a second Messer: if you have any form of Starbucks back there, I want it," I replied in a demanding tone. Danny looked at me, grinned, and walked over towards my bed.

"Now, don't tell the nurses I gave you this," he whispered, handing me the cup. I beamed. Danny had brought me a Double Chocolate Chip Frappuccino: my favorite drink. (A/N: Best.Drink.Ever!) Smiling, I gave Danny a hug – or rather, the best hug that I could give, considering my state – and thanked him.

"No problem Price," he said with a grin. He added seriously, "I'm glad that you're alright though. I was scared when I saw you hit that wall."

I looked up into Danny's blue eyes and smiled sadly. "I'm okay now, aren't I?"

Danny nodded and ruffled my hair. "Yeah, kid, you're alright." I swatted Danny playfully and Mac cleared his throat. We looked up from our little banter.

"We're all glad that you're alright, Anna," Mac said with sincerity. "And I called everyone back in New York, and they're relieved as well." I nodded and smiled at Mac, but then looked around the room to the other members of my team.

"Thank you all for finding me," I choked out. God, this emotional stuff could wear a person out. Mac shook his head at me.

"If you really want to thank anyone, you should thank the Las Vegas CSI team," he stated. "And you should thank Horatio too," he added as an afterthought.

I looked at Mac with confusion. "Horatio's here?"

Danny nodded and I peered outside of the room's windows. Sure enough, in the hallway stood a bunch of people that I had never seen before, and a familiar man with red hair. Horatio looked at me, smiled, and gave a short wave of his hand. I smiled back and waved.

"Actually, you have Horatio to thank for your life," Danny said thoughtfully. "He fired the shot that killed Clark." I scrunched up my face in concentration, recalling hearing a gunshot.

"How did Mahala not see him?" I asked curiously. My team members smiled.

"She knew that the Vegas CSIs would be at the warehouse, and she knew that we would be there. But she had no idea that you knew anyone from Miami," Mac said proudly.

"So, Horatio went up to the third floor of the building and Mac gave him the cue to fire the shot," Danny concluded. I blinked, and uttered a "Wow" under my breath.

"So, Price, you ready to get outta here?" Danny asked with a smile, as one of the nurses came into my room, removing the IV from my arm.

"You're free to go, Ms. Price," she said, looking at me with concerned eyes. "But if you have any trouble with your head whatsoever, I want you to go to the hospital immediately. If you experience any headaches, fever, dizziness..."

Mac nodded, stopping the woman. "We'll make sure she's alright. Thank you for your consideration." The woman nodded and ducked out of the room. Flack offered his hand and I moved slowly out of my hospital bed. I looked down at my clothes and realized that they were still the rumpled mess that they were yesterday. Somehow, I didn't care all of that much, as Flack held my hand delicately in his. Mac and Danny looked at each other, sharing a knowing glace, and we all headed out into the hallway.

………………………………………………………………………………………………………

Anna was moving across the room, slowly, but with the assistance of Flack. I thought that for her situation, her balance was impeccable. I looked around the hallway, and found Sara and Nick holding hands behind me. Sara met my gaze and smiled a genuine smile. I was glad that things were back to normal. All conversation hushed as Mac opened the door for the rest of his team. Stepping out into the hall, the young woman with stunning green eyes looked around at the group and smiled.

She loosened herself from Flack and one by one, began to personally thank all of us. Maneuvering her way over towards Nick and Sara, she gave them both hugs and said something to each of them. The pair hugged Anna back and smiled at her. Horatio was next, and I was surprised to find that the red-haired man actually gave Anna a long hug, talking to her in her ear. The young woman grinned and thanked Horatio. Catherine didn't wait for Anna to hug her; she threw her arms around the younger girl in a tight embrace. Warrick was next, and then Grissom, who gave the young woman an awkward hug. Grissom never was the type of person who was the "hugging type".

Finally, it was down to me. Anna looked into my eyes and drew me into a hug, whispering into my shoulder.

"Thank you for saving me, and thank you for making that promise to Flack. He told me about that, and it was really admirable of you. And," she said, swallowing, "thank you for risking your own life for mine back there at the warehouse. I held on, just like you said." Anna squeezed me for a second and then pulled back from her hug, smiling at me. I looked into her eyes once more before she made her way back over towards where Flack was standing. She took her fingers and laced them with his, standing as close to him as she could get.

"Words can't express how much I thank you," she said, looking around the hallway. We all nodded at her and Mac shook hands with Grissom and Horatio, before rubbing his own hands together.

"Well, Anna," Flack said, looking down at the young woman, "are you ready to go home?"

Anna smiled and looked back up at him, then towards Danny and Mac. "You bet," she answered with a grin. We waved our goodbyes as the group from New York headed down the hallway. I watched Anna's retreating figure and sighed. As quickly as she had walked into my life, she walked out of it.

The epilogue is coming up next (meaning probably Thursday or Friday since I am off work the rest of the week!). Keep feeding me those comments, because I love them!