A/N: Well we've come to the last chapter. I was thinking that this story would go on for a few more chapters, but I'm going away for school holidays, and thought i would wrap it up. Its the most chronic long chapter I think ive written, so it should be all good.

I just want to thank everyone again for reviewing. It really made me feel so good, knowing that people were enjoying what i was writing. And thanks again to all those who encouraged me to continue it. I cant thank you enough. It really meant the world to me.

Thank you again, and enjoy the last chapter!

"This is just not acceptable, Sara."

She was seated in Grissom's office, and he was opposite her, his hands folded in front of him. As soon as she had told him that she was going to dinner with Dr. Lurie, Grissom had made her go into his office. She knew he was going to give her a lecture, but at that moment, she didn't care what her supervisor had to say.

"Look," she stated. "I won't be working at 8 tonight. You have no control over what I do. We could get this guy, Griss," her voice shook slightly. "I can do this with or without your help. But no matter what, I will be doing it."

He seemed to contemplate it, his blue orbs starring straight into her brown ones. He could see the determination in her eyes, and he knew deep down that she was right. He couldn't control her outside of work.

He let out a deep sigh.

"Okay," he breathed. "You can go. But I'm going to be there to. At another table," he added, when he saw she was going to interrupt him. She leant back in her chair, her arms folded in front of chest.

"This has to be between us," he added. "This is unofficial. If you can get something out of him that could be helpful towards the investigation, then we can work from there. Otherwise…"

"This is between us," Sara repeated. He nodded. He glanced at his watch.

"Look, go home now and get some sleep. I'll meet you at the Stratosphere at 7.30pm."

Standing up, she threw him a smile. "Thanks."

He didn't reply, just stared at her. She blinked, and moved from the office. She could tell he wasn't happy about this arrangement. If anything, he was angry. She remembered his rage from the Strip Strangler case about her being a decoy. It had been out of his control. However, she hoped this would be more successful then that case. Then maybe Grissom would forgive her. She knew he wanted this case solved as much as she did… even more.

She saw Nick in the locker room. He flashed her a smile when he saw her, causing her to smile again. Lowering his voice, he pulled her towards him.

"Want to come over this morning?" he asked her. She shook her head.

"I'm sorry Nicky," she whispered, "I'm really tired, and…" she broke off, trying desperately to come up with some sort of excuse. She didn't want Nick to know what she was doing. He wouldn't allow it.

He smiled. "I understand, sweetie," he told her. He brushed a loose strand of hair behind her ear, and with a quick glance around the room, he leant down and quickly brushed his lips against hers.

"I'll see you tonight," he whispered, and quickly ducked out of the locker room. It took Sara a minute to recompose herself, and followed him out. She needed to get home and get some sleep.

Grissom was already there when Sara arrived at the Stratosphere. He was dressed in a suit, and looked decidedly uncomfortable. She herself was wearing a simple black dress, which showed off her legs and neck nicely. Her hair was curled around her face, and she wore a simple silver chain around her neck. Grissom gave her an approving look as she approached.

"You look… beautiful," he told her. She gave him a smile.

"Thanks, you look nice yourself."

Any bystander would have assumed that they were out on a date, rather a decoy operation.

"I booked a table," Grissom informed her. 'So I'll be able to keep an eye on you."

She nodded.

"I'm going to go in now," he told her. "I'll give you a call when I see him come in."

She nodded again, and he gripped her upper arm in support. "Good luck."

He turned on his heel, and she watched him disappear.

She wasn't particularly happy about standing in front of the casino. Seedy old men kept making comments at her, flashing her seedy grins, and making inappropriate comments. When Grissom's call came, she couldn't have been more relived.

She just became more nervous.

As she entered the restaurant, she spotted Grissom, a menu pulled up to cover his face. Dr. Lurie was seated just in front of him, and when he spotted Sara, he jumped up to greet her.

"Hello Deb," he said. She forced a smile, and seated herself at the table. His eye's surveyed her body, and she felt even more uncomfortable.

"You look amazing," he told her, and he picked up the menu.

"Is your favorite still the chicken pasta?" he asked her.

Sara almost felt herself gag and she shook her head. He looked a bit disappointed when she ordered the vegetarian pasta instead. After the waiter had left, they sat in silence for a long time.

Now that she was there, she had no idea how she was going to approach this, and how she was going to get him to open up. She tried to ignore Grissom, who kept flashing her cautious looks, and instead focus on Dr. Lurie.

"How have you been?" she asked him. He shook his head.

"Not a lot… I've been missing you…"

"Oh really?" she asked. He nodded, and reached over across the table to grasp her hand. She immediately tensed, and he shot her a hurt look.

"'I'm not going to hurt you, Debbie," he assured her.

"I don't believe you," she shot back. He pulled away from her, sending her an evil glare.

"I don't like your tone."

Sara was taken aback. He was speaking to her like she was a disobedient child. "Well I don't like what you did."

Suddenly the waiter appeared, placing their orders in front of them. She shot the waiter a smile, and after he left, she and Lurie was once again in silence as they ate their food. She could see Grissom still seated at his table. He wasn't eating, but nursed a glass of water. Trust Grissom not to drink any alcohol on something slightly work related. He looked up, and threw her a small smile, to reassure her.

She smiled back, and turned her attentions back to Lurie, who had just finished his meal and was wiping his lips with a napkin.

"Why did you hurt me?" Sara ventured. Lurie's eyes shot up at her.

"I never hurt you," he challenged, "You were the one who hurt me!"

Sara scoffed. "And how did I do that?"

He leant forward, as not to disturb the patrons around them. "Don't make me do this Debbie. Don't make me remind you…"

"Remind me of what?" Sara asked. She was deliberately baiting him now, and not caring in the slightest.

"I could have given you everything," he hissed. "But you had to run off with Michael Clark, didn't you?"

"What makes you so sure you could have given me more?" Sara asked, her voice rising slightly. She saw Grissom shoot her a warning look, and she lowered her voice again. "What makes you so sure?"

"God, Debbie," he said desperately. "You…"

"I what?"

"You had everyone at the hospital wrapped around your finger," he said. "You could have any guy you wanted at the snap of your fingers. And you chose Michael Clark…"

"I loved him," Sara told him. She saw him shift his jaw angrily. "And you hurt him, didn't you?"

Sara didn't think of herself as much of an actor, but she could make a few tears appear quite easily. So when her eye's welled up with tears, she could tell Dr. Lurie was starting to break. A man was powerless to a woman's tears.

"Let's get out of here," he said, holding up his hand to get the attention of the waiter to get the bill. She shot Grissom another look as Lurie signed the check, and together, she and Lurie excited the restaurant, Grissom following close behind them. Lurie grabbed Sara's hand, wrapping his fingers around hers. They continued on down the strip, no one speaking.

"You didn't answer my question," She said, stopping their wanderings. He turned to face her.

"Why does it matter now?" he asked, bringing his hand up to caress her face, "We're together now…"

"It matters to me," she said forcefully. Lurie continued his caresses of her face.

"Of course it does, sweetheart," he told her. It irked Sara that Lurie was using the same term of endearment on her that Nick did. She pulled away from him.

"Tell me the truth!"

He leant forward and grabbed her wrist, pulling her through the crowd. She hoped Grissom was still following them, and when she glanced behind her, she saw he was, his eye's focused on her.

Lurie stopped when they reached the parking lot in the Stratosphere. Their footsteps echoed in the empty lot.

She pulled away from him and stepped back, desperately trying to listen for Grissom's footsteps. She didn't hear anything.

"Why did you hurt him!" Sara asked angrily, trying to stall time. Lurie just starred off past her, his gaze focusing on something behind her, and for one horrible second, she thought that Lurie had spotted Grissom.

She quickly turned, but saw no one.

And in that second, Lurie had her pinned against the wall, his body pinning her fragile one hard against the cement wall. She let out a squeal, and tried to push him off her.

I am an idiot, was all Sara could think.

He crushed his lips against hers, and pulled back.

"You know I killed him so we could be together," he said. Sara shook her head, but not because she didn't know that. Simply because she was stunned at how idiotic the doctor appeared to be.

Suddenly she heard the click of a gun, and saw Grissom standing behind Lurie.

"Turn around," he ordered him. Sara could see that Lurie was surprised, but he did not release his grip on her. Instead it increased.

"Oh look who it is," Lurie said sarcastically. "The doctor who couldn't take a chance."

Both Sara and Grissom winced at that. Sara could still remember how hurt she had been when she had witnessed Grissom's admission. Even now he looked guilty.

"Let her go," Grissom ordered him, his gun still held steady at the older man. Lurie shook his head, his eyes still focused on Sara.

"I don't think so," he said. "Me and Debbie here are going to have a good time."

Sara let out a frustrated groan. "I am NOT Debbie!"

Lurie's eye's flashed angrily. "Don't play games with me, Deb."

She saw Grissom edge closer, gun still at the ready. "Just let her go, Lurie," his voice still calm. "You don't want to hurt her, do you?"

"I'm not hurting her," Lurie shot back, pressing himself harder against Sara. She whimpered in pain, and she saw Grissom's eyes flash with concern. This original harmless situation was becoming dangerous, fast.

It had become silent in the parking lot. No one was speaking, just the sound of Sara's erratic breathing could be heard.

Quick as a flash, Lurie dove one hand into the pocket of his pants, the other holding Sara firmly to the wall. Grissom tightened his grip on the gun as Lurie pulled the small pocketknife out, and flipped it open, pressing it against Sara's neck.

"I don't want to hurt you," he breathed out, "But if you don't co-operate, accidents could happen."

She nodded subtly, afraid that moving her head too much would cause the knife to slice into her flesh. Grissom was looking scared himself, his usual stoic face showing most of the emotions he was feeling.

Sara herself was worried now, and scared. A couple of months ago, she wouldn't have cared that a knife was pushed against her throat. But now that she had Nick, everything was different. She wanted to live. She wanted to be with Nick. She didn't want to die.

To her horror, tears began to well up in her eyes. Grissom looked even more concerned, and Lurie looked satisfied.

"Got the message now?" He asked her.

"Yes," she choked out. Giving her a small smile, he turned his head towards Grissom, who still stood a couple of meters away, gun still steadily pointing at Lurie.

"Debbie and I are going to drive away," Lurie explained to Grissom. "And if you try and shoot me, I will cut her throat. I have quick reflexes. If you shoot, I will still cut her."

Grissom swallowed nervously, and shot Sara a quick look. She looked petrified. But, if he wanted to get her out alive, he needed to let her go.

With a quick nod to Lurie, he lowered the gun. Sara's eyes widened in shock and Lurie dragged her to his car, throwing her into the back seat.

"Grissom!" She screamed. He felt his entire body go numb. He hated to see her so scared, and he hated what he was doing to her. But he did have a plan, even if she didn't realize it. He just hoped that she wasn't hurt before the plan went into effect.

The car pulled out of its spot, and sped down to the exit, its tires screeching on the smooth cement. There was only one exit out of this lot, Grissom knew. This would work in his favor.

Earlier that Night

"I need a favor," Grissom asked Brass. The older detective nodded.

"What do you need?" He gestured for Grissom to take a seat, which he did.

Grissom quickly explained the situation to Brass.

"You're letting Sara face this guy alone?" He asked incredulously.

"She was going to anyway," Grissom said. "I could either help her or not."

Brass nodded, and let out a low whistle. "And I guess this favor has something to do with this plan of hers?"

Grissom nodded. "I just need you to follow us tonight. Remain inconspicuous. Just incase something goes wrong."

"Incase something goes wrong?"

"This guy in a maniac, Jim," Grissom explained. "He could do anything to her. I know I'm already backing her up, just…"

"Extra protection?" Brass asked. Grissom nodded.

"I'll be there."

Brass had sat outside the restaurant, and when he had seen Lurie pull Sara outside, he'd followed in the car. When he had taken her to the parking complex, he'd remained outside at Grissom's request, not that he wanted to. Sara didn't know Brass had come along either. He had seen what was going on, but Grissom's firm look had told him to wait where he was. Perhaps incase Lurie tried to run.

He'd called backup when he'd seen Lurie pulled the knife up and aimed it at Sara's throat. He was about to run in himself when Lurie had dragged Sara off into his car.

Backup had arrived within seconds, and when Lurie had tried to exit the parking lot, squad cars blocked the entrance, forcing Lurie to a stop.

"Get out of the car!" Brass yelled. With no where to run, Lurie reached back to grab Sara.

Grissom had run up the car, slightly puffed, just as Brass yanked the door open, pulling Lurie out, just as he had pulled Sara towards him. She herself scampered out of the car, falling into Grissom, shaking violently. Grissom wrapped his arms around her, pulling her against him, soothing her, and himself.

Handing Lurie off onto another officer, who placed him into the back of the car, Brass made his way over to Grissom and Sara.

"You okay, doll?" he asked her. She nodded, pulling herself away from Grissom. He looked slightly disappointed at the lack of contact, but Sara didn't notice, instead throwing her arms around Brass. The detective looked surprised, but hugged her back none the less.

"I'll take you back to CSI," he told them. Grissom nodded, and kept his hand at Sara's lower back as they made their way to Brass's car.

CSI was busy when Grissom and Sara arrived there. The recent arrest of Lurie had everyone buzzing. Shift was about to start, but Grissom took Sara to his office. She looked exhausted and slightly ruffled from her conflicts with Lurie, and was still clad in her revealing black dress. Not exactly work attire. Not that she would be working tonight.

"I want you to go home," Grissom told her as they stepped into his office. She shook her head. She wanted to see Nick, and he was here. She needed to see Nick.

Grissom let out a long sigh. "Please, Sara. Don't make this difficult. You did what you wanted to do, now please, just go home and get some rest."

Letting out a sigh, she nodded. She couldn't work anyway. She'd say a quick hello to Nick, and then head home.

"Good," Grissom said. They stood there in silence for a moment, before she spoke again.

"Thanks Grissom, for coming with me tonight. For helping…"

He shrugged. "It's fine. You just get some rest."

She turned and made her way out of the office, but as she stepped into the hall, she felt him grab her arm.

"Sara…"

She looked around, and saw him starring at her, breathing heavily.

"Have dinner with me?" he asked her. She gasped. A couple of months ago, she would have been in heaven, but now, she felt bad. She was with Nick. She loved Nick.

"Griss…"

"Please," he begged her. "I need to make things right. I care about you-"

"Sara!"

Sara turned and saw Nick running towards her. As he reached her, he pulled her into her arms, interrupting a potential uncomfortable situation.

"I was talking to Brass!" He said, his voice muffled by Sara's hair. She clung to him, feeling all her emotions running wild on her once again.

"What the hell happened?" He asked her, pulling her away for a second. "Brass said something about a decoy operation?" Grissom still stood there, looking slightly annoyed and embarrassed that Nick had just stormed up to them.

"Nick," Grissom said. "I'll explain it to you later," he said. "Sara needs to go home and get some rest."

Nick looked at Grissom angrily. "How could you send her to do that?"

"He didn't," Sara said to Nick. "It was my idea…"

Nick, who was still focusing on Grissom, cut her short. "I'm taking her home."

Grissom shook his head. "That's entirely unnecessary."

Suddenly something came across Nick's eyes. "No, I'm taking my girlfriend home."

Grissom's jawed literally dropped. Sara felt uncomfortable and buried herself into Nick's side. He held her snug against him, his gaze still unwavering.

"I know there's probably some rule against it," Nick said. "But something has happened to her, and I'm going to take her home." His voice quivering slightly, he added, "She's my whole life."

"Of course," Grissom finally choked out a moment later. He didn't look at Sara. He couldn't look at Sara. "You take as much time as you need, in fact, have tonight off."

Nick look satisfied, and quickly pulled Sara to him again, and letting his lips brush against hers briefly, not caring who was watching, just happy that Sara was all right. Brass's explanation of what had happened had left him concerned and angry at the same time. Concerned about Sara, and angry with Grissom.

Sara could see that Grissom was broken. He had just had enough courage to ask her out, and in that second he had found out she was already taken. Quickly pulling away from Nick, and wrapped her arms around Grissom.

He stiffened, and Nick looked slightly confused.

"Thank you," she whispered to him. His arms came up to encircle her, holding her to him.

"I'm sorry," he mumbled to her. "I'm sorry I'm too late."

Sara gently pulled away from him. "Yea, just a little bit late."

Grissom swallowed unhappily as Nick pulled her towards him again, wrapping her up in his warm embrace.

"I'll take her home," Nick told Grissom.

As Nick walked away, he couldn't help but call out.

"There's no rule against it."

Nick turned around, his arm still firmly wrapped around Sara. Nick's face broke into a wide grin, and held Sara even closer to him. She herself smiled back at Grissom.

Grissom nodded at her, letting her know that there was no hard feelings, and watched as Nick escorted Sara from the lab, feeling a bit sad that he was too late.

But, all in all, he was happy. When it all came down to it, all he wanted was for her to be happy. And she was. She was happy with Nick.

And, in the end, that was all that mattered.

Well I hope you enjoyed it. Let me know.

Thank you all so much for coming on this journey with me. Hopefully some of you will be back for my next story.

Cheers!