Here's the next chapter for ya. Hope you'll enjoy and review it. Thanks for the reviews on chapter 28. I'll be going on vacation Sunday and stay away for at least a week, so this is the last update before that. Hope you will all forgive me for that. Oh and for the record, I am not a doctor, so I don't know if some of the things I have written in this chapter are true.

Lady J, you are the best beta in the world, no in the universe. Thank you for making all my stories better.

Chapter Twenty Nine

Never Gonna Happen

"Knock, knock." Catherine said, knocking on the door to the break room.

"Catherine?" Sara looked up. "What are you doing here?"

"I work here." Catherine smiled.

"Right." Sara looked down at her folded hands. She knew that the blonde was trying to cheer her up a little, but she didn't have the energy to play along.

"Sorry." The other woman sat down beside Sara on the couch. "Bad joke."

"It's ok." Sara didn't look at her.

"No it's not." Catherine placed her hand in between the brunette's folded hands and looked up at her two bodyguards. "Could you leave us alone please?"

"We'll be right outside." Officer Jenkins informed them.

"I just wanted to make you feel a little better, Sara. I know how hard this is - I can see it on you."

"Catherine, you need to your focus to be entirely on this case." Sara said, looking down at their joined hands.

"No. I need to split my focus between the case, Lindsey and you." Catherine said. "I always have lots of balls in the air, that's just how I do things. That's how I work. That's how I deal with everything I see in this job. You're pulling away from me… Please don't pull away from me."

"What? You just love me so much all of a sudden?" Sara let go of the blonde's hand and got up.

"No," Catherine followed her. "But I would like the chance to find out if I could." She added softly.

"You don't understand." The brunette turned around facing her. "Veronica was taken on my watch!" She pointed at her own chest. "And I couldn't prevent her getting hurt this time, either! My watch, Catherine!"

"No. I'm the primary. He got her on my watch."

"Semantics."

"Sara, I care about you. I want to help yo…"

There was a knock on the door and Grissom looked in.

"Sara, can I talk to you for a second before the meeting?"

"Sure." The brunette looked at him questioningly.

"I'll wait outside for you." Catherine said and left the two alone.

"I know I'm not allowed to work this case." Sara started when she was alone with her supervisor.

"Good," Grissom smiled. "But that wasn't what I wanted to talk to you about."

"Then what?"

"I know this is hard for you and I want to help you. Maybe when this is over we can go to dinner and talk about it?"

"You're asking me out?"

"Yes."

"On a date?"

"Yes." The old man nodded with a smile.

"You're asking me on a date while my best friend in the world, her daughter and her sister are kidnapped?"

"Well," Grissom paused. "Yes."

"No." Sara shook her head.

"No?"

"Never gonna happen Grissom. How insensitive can you be? I'm hurting here, and you just…" She turned away from him. "Besides, I'm seeing someone else. Someone I've wanted to be with for so long, who pushes me to the limit but not beyond it. I could love her so easily if I just let myself."

"Her?" Grissom croaked.

"Yes." Sara nodded and looked out at Catherine who was talking to the two guards in the hall. "You were always the distraction, Grissom. It was so easy to pretend that you were the one and avoid facing my true feelings - knowing how she would challenge me like no one else could. How she could give me the kind of life that I have never had, but always believing that I would never stand a chance with her. But I do have a chance with her, and I'm not going to ruin that. I deserve happiness. I could never get that with you." She walked past him. "I have to go." She left the man alone and joined Catherine in the hall.

"You ok?" The blonde asked.

"I am now." Sara took a hold of the other woman's hand. "Let's go to that meeting."

They walked down the corridor hand in hand.

"You know people are going to know now, right?" Catherine asked, squeezing Sara's hand lightly. "Or at least suspect."

"That's the least of my worries right now." Sara told her. "I need your support right now." She added.

"You have it." Catherine squeezed her hand again, signalling that she was alright with people knowing as well. "So what did Grissom want?"

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"We'll leave you here for now." Dunne told the two women. "We all need to rest a little." He walked out holding Julie on one arm.

"Charles." Veronica spoke up and stopped him.

"What is it my sweet?"

"Please leave Julie here with me." She pleaded.

"Why would I do such a thing?" He looked at the crying little girl.

"She's scared, Charles." Veronica hoped to convince him by using his name.

"I'm glad you remember I prefer the name Charles." He mused.

"Please, Charles." She begged again. "It would mean so much to me. Please, for me – leave her here."

"You have learned how to beg, I see." He said looking down at her. "It does suit you, and it will make my job so much easier." He turned around to leave again.

Veronica knew she couldn't let him walk away with her daughter - she knew how impatient the man was. With the little girl being as scared as she was, the chances of her stopping crying any time soon was low, and who knew what he would do when he got tired of listening to that. She thought fast and made one last attempt at persuading him.

"The Lord gave her to me to protect." She lied to him. "She is yours and mine, but if you take her now she will always be scared of you and you will have let down Our Father." She prayed with every fibre of her being that going to his level of insanity would help.

He hesitated in the doorway, seemingly debating internally whether or not to believe her. Finally he put Julie down on the floor and closed the door behind him. Veronica rushed over to the little girl, picking her up and holding her close.

"Don't even think about escaping, girls." He said through the door. "You have nowhere to go if you even get out of this room."

Neither of the girls answered him, they just looked at each other. Bridget hadn't said a word since she had woken up in the van and Veronica was worried about the young woman, but she couldn't help her until she had made sure that her daughter was ok.

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"Grissom uhm…" Sara hesitated. "Grissom asked me out."

"He what?" Catherine stopped abruptly and turned towards the brunette. "Your best friend is missing and he asks you out?" She asked incredulously.

"Yes," Sara nodded. "That pretty much sums it up."

"And?" Catherine asked.

"And I said no… Of course." Sara looked at the blonde.

"Yeah?" Catherine looked relieved, but needed to make sure.

"Yeah." Sara nodded and squeezed the other woman's hand playfully. "I'm dating you now, right?" When Catherine nodded she continued. "Well, who in their right mind would date him when they have a chance with you?"

Catherine smiled brightly and gave the brunette a short hug, but when she pulled back Sara held on, keeping Catherine in the embrace. She settled back into the hug, nuzzling the nape of the other woman's neck with her fingers to comfort her.

"We'll find them, sweetie." She whispered. "I promise that we will all do everything we can to get them back safely."

"Safely, but not unharmed." Sara whispered against her neck.

"I…" Catherine knew the other woman was right. "I'm sorry." She caught movement out of the corner of her eyes and looked over to see who was coming down the corridor. She caught Grissom's eyes as he stopped at the sight of the two of them together. She watched as he put two and two together and realization hit him. She couldn't be bothered to feel sorry for him though, he had had his chance and blown it. She wouldn't be that stupid, she thought as she held on tighter to the other woman. "We need to get to that meeting." She whispered to the brunette and loosened her grip.

"I know." Sara let go as well and looked the shorter woman in the eyes. "Thanks again."

"Anytime." Catherine took her hand again and led her towards the conference room, leaving Grissom alone in the corridor.

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An hour later, Veronica finally felt her daughter calm down and fall asleep against her chest. Bridget was sitting next to them on a small bed looking into thin air. The doctor put the little girl down and tucked her under the covers and kneeled down in front of her little sister; the baby sister she hadn't seen since she was 4 years old.

"Bridget." She said, gently trying to get eye contact with her. The young woman was showing obvious signs of shock and didn't answer her. "Bridget." She said a little more forcefully, but still didn't get a response from her. "I'm sorry, but this is for your own good." She whispered and slapped her on the cheek, finally earning a response. She jumped to the side as the girl leaned forward and threw up. Holding her hair back with one hand and rubbing her back soothingly with the other, she gently spoke to her. "You've got to stay with me here, kid. I need all the help I can get. Come back to the land of the living, sweetheart."

"Mommy?" The distressed girl looked up at her.

"No, honey." Veronica sat down next to her putting an arm around her. "It's Veronica."

"Veronica." Bridget looked around the almost bare room confused. "Where are we?"

"I don't know." Veronica sighed.

"He got me, didn't he?" Bridget asked, crying silently. "The guy who killed Siobhan got me."

"Yes." Veronica nodded in confirmation. "And his partner got me and..." She looked at her sleeping daughter. "Julie."

"Oh God." Bridget started sobbing hysterically. Veronica tried her best to comfort her while trying desperately not to break down too. She had to stay strong for Julie. She couldn't let them hurt her child and she would do her very best to keep her sister protected as well.

"Bridget," She forced the girl to look at her. "Bridget, you have to stay strong for me. You have to pull yourself together. I promise I will do everything I can to protect you, but this is the worst situation we could possibly be in. We need to stick together to get out of this, do you understand me?"

"Yes." Bridget whispered, but she couldn't stop crying.

"Look at me." Veronica ordered as she looked down. It hurt the older woman to have to be so hard on her sister, but for them to have a chance to get away from the two men they had to be tough. "I need to ask you…" She paused dreading the question she had to ask. "Are you a virgin?"