Thank you to everyone who has read and reviewed this story! We are coming upon the final chapters, this is the beginning of the end. Thank you for reading and thank you for sticking with me!

As always, I do no own CSI.

"Sara!"

Grissom shook her gently, trying to make her wake up.

"Sara!" he said again, shaking her a little harder. "Sara, please wake up! Sara!"

Sara's eyelids moved slightly and Grissom felt his heart leap into his throat, but the next moment his hopes were dashed. Besides the slight twitch in her eyelids, she didn't move or wake up and Grissom sat down next to her in despair. He gathered her to him and closed his eyes. Despair was beginning to set in. He had been so hopeful when they escaped from the cell and came out of the mine. He thought that they would be okay once they were away from Reichman, but an hour of walking and carrying Sara around in the desert had not been encouraging. He was exhausted, thirsty, and worried. He knew that Sara was barely clinging to life. The thought of losing her was unbearable.

Grissom didn't not know how long he had been sitting there when he suddenly heard a voice behind him.

"Hello, Gil."

Anger flooded Grissom. Of all the voices in the world, the one he was hearing was the least welcome of all. Grissom opened his eyes and stood to find the jeering face of Joseph Reichman staring back at him. Grissom moved in front of Sara, shielding her from the murderer in front of him.

"What in the hell are you doing here, Reichman?" Grissom spat angrily. "Haven't you done enough damage for one day?"

Reichman sneered and pulled a gun from the holster at his side. He leveled the gun at Grissom's chest.

"Step away from Sara and put your gun on the ground." Reichman said menacingly. "Do it or I'll shoot. You can't help her if you're dead, Gil."

Grissom balled his fists up and glared at Reichman. "I'm not moving," Grissom said through clenched teeth. "I'm not giving you a clear shot and I'm certainly not giving you my gun."

Reichman's eyes flashed dangerously. "Don't play games with me, Gil," he said, his voice dangerously soft. "Step aside or you're both dead."

"Go to hell."

Grissom flinched as the shot rang out. He looked down at his body to see where the bullet had hit, but he saw nothing. Fear shot through him and he turned to look at Sara. There was a small divet in the dirt next to her head and Grissom stared at it blankly, barely able to process the sight. She had avoided death by mere inches. Grissom turned back to Reichman who had the gun leveled at him again.

"Put your gun down and step away from her." Grissom hesitated and Reichman cocked the gun. "Now!" he shouted.

Fighting to keep from trembling, Grissom un-holstered his gun and slowly laid it on the ground in front of him. Then he slowly moved away from Sara. He had gone about 10 feet when Reichman spoke.

"Stop."

Grissom halted and waited to see what Reichman would do. The gun was still trained on him and he could feel it boring a hole in him. It was like having a drill pressed to his body. He was very aware of his heartbeat and the fact that each valiant circulation of blood could well be his last. His mouth was dry and he suddenly wished had thought to bring water with them when they escaped.

Grissom watched as Reichman moved slowly forward until he was only feet from Grissom.

"Down on your knees," Reichman commanded. Grissom started to say no, but Reichman rammed the gun into Grissom's side. "Now." Grissom slowly lowered himself to his knees, feeling irrationally foolish. Reichman pressed the gun to the back of Grissom's head. Fear replaced the feeling of foolishness and Grissom found himself praying for a miracle.

Sara jerked as something hit the ground next to her head and showered her with sand. Her groggy mind struggled to process the accompanying sounds and she found herself wondering where in the world she was. She could feel the pain in her side and all over her body and the memories of what had taken place hit her with full force. She struggled to open her eyes, desperate to find out where she was. When she finally managed to open her eyes a fraction, she gasped.

Grissom was some ten feet away from her, kneeling in the sand. This, however, was not what caused her to gasp. Joseph Reichman was standing directly behind Grissom with a gun pressed to the latter's head. Sara felt fear and anger flood her. She struggled to hear what Reichman was saying. After a few minutes, she was finally able to make it out.

"For twenty years, I've been planning this moment."

Reichman was speaking softly, but his voice carried. He sounded calm, gleeful…giddy even. Sara felt revulsion well up in her. She lay still, listening with all of her might, prepared to do whatever was necessary to save Grissom.

"You ruined my life," Reichman was saying, the gun still pressed to Grissom's head. "You smeared my name, you took away the only job I ever wanted. Because of you, I was never able to work in law enforcement ever again. You shattered my dreams, Gilbert Grissom."

Grissom snorted derisively despite himself, causing Sara to cringe.

"I didn't ruin your life," Grissom said. "You did that yourself. When you killed our co-workers, you ruined any chance you ever had of having a successful career. You did what you did and you paid the price. I'm not sorry for that."

Sara held back a scream as Reichman kicked Grissom in the ribs. Grissom fell to the ground, clutching his side and grunting in agony.

"When are you going to learn to keep your mouth shut, Gil?" Reichman asked, laughing as Grissom struggled to rise. Reichman aimed another kick at Grissom, this time catching him in the kidneys. Grissom fell back to the ground, breathing hard. Reichman laughed again and began to kick Grissom mercilessly. Sara struggled not to cry as she watched the man she loved take the abuse, knowing there was nothing she could do to help him. He did not scream or cry and Sara felt pride swell in her heart. He was truly the strongest man she knew.

After what felt like hours to Sara, Reichman finally stopped kicking Grissom, turning him over on his back so he was looking up. Reichman knelt down clutching the gun in his hand.

"You're pathetic, Gil," he said mockingly.

It was more than Sara could bear. She slowly struggled to get up, ignoring the pain shooting over inch of her body. Reichman's back was turned to her and he seemed to have forgotten that she was even there. As she struggled to her knees, she cast around for a weapon. Her eyes landed on Grissom's gun laying abandoned in the dirt and she slowly crawled toward it. Reichman was raising the gun.

"You ruined my life, Gil," Reichman said softly, aiming the gun right between Grissom's eyes.

Fighting exhaustion, Sara crawled resolutely towards Grissom's gun. She could feel the weakness pulling at her arms and legs and she could feel the wet sticky blood running down her side.

Just a few more feet, she thought desperately. Almost there…

"You shattered my dreams…"

Sara wrapped her fingers around the gun's grip and tried to lift it. It was heavy in her arms and she struggled with it. Slowly, she leveled it at Reichman…

Steady…steady…

"For that, you must die…"

Reichman and Sara simultaneously cocked their guns. Sara was beginning to see spots…she was going to faint…

Aim steady…

She pulled the trigger and the gun bucked in her hand. Unable to hold on any longer, Sara fell to the ground and slipped into the waiting darkness.

Please R&R!