Disclaimer: I have absolutely no way to gain ownership of CSI- not even blackmail.

The light on Sara's helmet was remarkably inadequate for the darkness of the third mine. The first two had been equally dark, and equally free of evidence. Catherine and she had split up after those first two; at this rate it would take them until daybreak just to get through them.

Flicking off the flashlight in her hand and heading up towards the fresh air, Sara sighed. This had seemed like a good idea at first. But then it had been a two-hour drive out here and it was still dark and the eerie silence of the mines was giving her the creeps. Not that she would admit it. Reaching the exit, Sara stretched and looked up at the night stars. In the city, she never got a view this clear. She looked at her watch; 1 AM. They had been here for almost two hours.

"Hey, Sara!" came Catherine's call through the dark, "Come check this out!"

The brunette adjusted her helmet and shouldered her bag, "What is it? Did you find something in the fourth mine?"
"Nope." Catherine peaked out from behind a rock as Sara rounded a corner. Sara couldn't help but think that she was absolutely adorable with her hard hat on. "But I did find an unmarked mine! It's not on the map! Come on, let's check it out."

"Cath, if it's not marked, that probably means it's not secure. We should probably get some cadets in here to make sure it's safe."

"Yeah. And then we'd have to wait two more hours for them to stomp all over our evidence and ruin our case. Come on, Sara! Where's your sense of adventure?" She disappeared into the gaping entrance.

"Hiding right behind my common sense and better judgment." Sara grumbled, but she picked her way through the rocky ground and followed her strong-willed coworker anyway.

"God, it's pitch black in here," Catherine complained, "These helmet lights aren't worth a damn."

Sara flipped on her flashlight, "Didn't you bring your Mag?"

"Yeah, can you hold my water bottle for a second?"

"Sure."

Sara took the bottle while Catherine rustled in her kit. A moment later, another light tapped on. The women surveyed what they could see of their surroundings. It wasn't much. The walls of this mine were much rougher than the others they had seen. It seemed that Sara had been right; this mine was unfinished.

They walked on in silence for several hundred feet until Catherine shined her light to the ceiling and jumped in triumph.

"Sara, look! It's that same purple rock."

"Jasperoid."

"Whatever. I think we're on the right track."

"Great." Sara looked uneasily at the rickety support beams that were little more that upright logs, "Catherine, let's get out of here. This place looks really unstable."

Catherine groaned, "Sara, come on. We're almost there. If Bill Cassidy- a seasoned prospector, felt comfortable coming in here, then it's probably fine."

"Cath, Bill Cassidy died- possibly in this mine and possibly because it was unstable."

"Grr. Oh, fine. Let's just look around for five more minutes, okay? And then I promise we can go."

"Okay, thanks. But only five more minutes." The two women set down their kits and bags.

Just then, there was a shuffle and scuff of moving pebbles. Both of the women's flashlights jerked up abruptly. Catherine brought her free hand to her weapon even if, two hundred yards underground, it was an empty threat.

"Hello?" Sara called.

There was no sound except another crackle of loose dirt. Sara thought that maybe it was just a bat or something.

"Is anyone there?" Catherine asked the darkness, "We're from the crime lab. We're investigating the death of Bill Cassidy."

"We're not police officers." Sara added, just in case there was someone out there and they thought that the women were a threat, "We just want to find out what happened."

There was another scuffle of rocks and then a raspy voice, "I am so sorry."

And then there was a clatter of feet on rocks, a loud crash, and a bright flash.

"Catherine!"

"Sara!"

Sara felt herself drop her flashlight as she grabbed Catherine's hand instead. The noise was deafening and she couldn't see, though she couldn't tell if that was because it was too dark or too bright. She felt something impact her stomach and she realized that Catherine had grabbed her around the middle. Instinctively, she shielded the smaller woman with her body.

"Sara!" The voice was strangled.

"It's going to be okay. Everything's going to be okay." Sara squeezed the body in her arms even tighter.

Just as the noise was starting to die down, there was another loud rumble and Sara felt rocks tumbling around her. She felt Catherine pulled from her grasp. She remembered calling out for the other woman. She didn't remember something hitting her head, but she had felt her knees impact the hard ground and she did recall realizing that things were too bright. But only because everything was fading to black.

When she opened her eyes again, she felt a sharp pain in the back of her skull. She was face down in the dirt. She lifted her head to see light from her Mag where it had fallen. Just beyond it, she saw a pale limp hand. Fear flooded through her.

"Catherine…" She whispered hoarsely. She coughed dryly and began to crawl only to feel another sharp jab in her chest. Slowly, she made her way across the uneven floor of the mine. Finally, she reached Catherine's hand and took it in her own.

She struggled to sit up, wincing at the pain in her middle. With her free hand, she picked up her flashlight. She gasped when she saw her colleague in the shadowy light. She was on her side, her legs and lower torso trapped under the debris of fallen rocks. Her face was still and unmoving; the arm that was not in Sara possession was twisted awkwardly.

Tears trickled down Sara's face as she shifted golden red locks out the older woman's face, "Catherine…" she whispered, gently caressing her high cheekbones. "Catherine, you've got to wake up, babe. We've got a case to solve! Come on, Cat. Open your eyes."

Silence.

Sara's shoulders heaved as she wept openly, "Cat!" she sobbed, ignoring the increasing pain above her heart, "Cat, baby, please. Don't leave me here. Don't leave me by myself in the dark. Please." She leaned over to whisper pleadingly, "Don't leave me, Cat."

After a long moment, there was a low groan and then, "Sara?" The fingers of their joined hands were intertwined, "Don't worry sweetheart, I'm not going anywhere."

"Cat!" Sara's heart leapt, and without thinking, she pressed her lips to those of the trapped woman.