Chapter 12

"Where did you go?
I need to know
I waited here, you never showed"

Greg woke early the next morning. He couldn't help it; his dreams that night had been filled with Sara, especially the thought of their kiss. He couldn't wait for their meeting today at the park. Crossing to his window, he peeked through the blinds, instantly perking up. It looked like it was going to be a beautiful day. The sun was shining, there wasn't a cloud in the sky, and Greg's heart felt lighter than it felt in about eight years.

He made himself some coffee, surprising himself by whistling as he brewed the coffee. He was just in a great mood. As he sat on his bed and sipped his coffee, however, his mood turned contemplative. He had hardly thought about Vegas since he had finally found Sara, and he remembered what he had told her last night: "Part of me wants to take you back to Las Vegas with me, so that we can live our lives together in the place that's home to both of us. The other part of me knows that that's never going to happen, and so that part is preparing me to leave everything behind so that I can follow you to wherever you run next."

And he had meant every word of that. In his perfect fantasy world, he and Sara would live together in Vegas and still work at the crime lab, and the only thing that would change would be his relationship with Sara. Reality, on the other hand, begged a different story, and Greg suspected he would have to follow this one. He knew in his heart that Sara would never go back to Vegas, just as she wouldn't be staying in San Francisco. She had been running from heartache too long to face it now. And if she ran again, this time, Greg would be running with her.

Sure, he would miss Vegas. He would miss Nick, and Catherine and Warrick, and, believe it or not, even Grissom. But he would miss, he had missed, Sara even more. And where she was is where he needed to be, and nothing would stand in the way of that.

Glancing down at his watch, Greg drank the rest of his coffee in one gulp. He had spent more time than he had thought lost in his reverie, and he needed to hurry if he was going to meet Sara at the park. Quickly showering and getting dressed, Greg ran out the door without giving a second thought to what he had been thinking of before.

When Greg arrived at the park, at the same moment the clock in his car turned to ten o'clock on the dot, he realized their mistake. Sara had just told him to meet her at the park, but Golden Gate Park was huge, and she hadn't specified where to meet her. Still, Greg wasn't worried. It was a gorgeous day out, and he wouldn't mind walking around a bit to find her.

He parked near the Beach Chalet, and started his search there. There was no Sara on any of the three floors, though he enjoyed the bird's-eye-view model of San Francisco, and even debated over buying a tacky San Francisco t-shirt in the gift shop. However, he decided against it, instead leaving the chalet and heading deeper into the park.

As he walked, he pulled his cell phone out and called hers. It rang five times before heading to voicemail. He felt a smile spread across his face as he heard her voice reciting this familiar message. "Hi, you've reached Sara Sidle, please leave your name and number after the beep."

"Good morning," he said cheerfully once it beeped. "I hope you didn't forget about our plan to meet at the park, because if you slept in, I'm going to be very angry. Anyway, call me when you get this, so we can meet and continue our conversation."

He shut his cell phone and put it back in his pocket. He would just have to wait for Sara, and if she didn't give him a call within the next twenty minutes or so, he would head over to the hotel to wake her up. After all, that was the only reason why she wouldn't answer her phone, and after their emotional night, he didn't think any less of her for sleeping as long as she could.

Instead, he decided to enjoy himself. It was beautiful day out, and there was no point sitting in his car when he could just as easily stroll around the park. So, he took a complimentary map and headed for the first place that seemed remotely interesting to him: the buffalo paddock.

Greg couldn't remember if he had ever seen bison before. Even if he had, however, their massive size took him by surprise. They were huge, absolutely giant, and Greg stared at them, completely mesmerized. He must've stood there for a good half an hour, just watching the colossal beasts as they calmly grazed and, really, didn't do much else.

Then, suddenly, one raised its giant head and bellowed loudly, which amazed Greg even more. Much to his chagrin, however, the bison seemed to take this as a sign. They all turned and galloped—for lack of a better term—farther into their enclosure, where they could no longer be seen.

It was then that Greg realized how long he had been standing there, and his forehead creased in a mix of annoyance and worry. Where could Sara be? And, more importantly, why hadn't she answered his phone call?

He decided to call her again, hoping that this time, his phone call would wake her up. However, his hopes were dashed as her phone rang its five times and headed to voicemail. This time, Sara's greetings did not bring a smile to his face. Instead, he just looked more concerned. Sighing, he waited for the beep, then said, his concern evident in his voice, "Hey, Sara. I don't know where you are, and I would appreciate a call back. Anyway, I'm going to…" He checked the map. "The carousal, so if you could meet me there, that'd be great. And hey, if I don't hear from you soon, I'm going to head back to the hotel to look for you, ok? So call me!"

Hanging up, he ran a hand through his hair. This was beginning to worry him. It wasn't like Sara to avoid his phone calls, but it also wasn't like her to sleep through something this important.

He headed towards the carousal, since that was where he had said he was going to be. He glanced up at the sky, suddenly surprised. Clouds were amassing in the perfect blue sky, hinting of possible rain in the not so distant future.

Greg got to the carousal and sat down on a bench near it. He was still worried, and the fact that Sara had not yet called him was not alleviating his fears any. He checked his phone every few seconds, as if he would miss it ringing, but it was silent in his hand.

He just didn't understand why she wouldn't call him. She had no reason not to call him; she wasn't mad at him, at least, not that he knew of. Sighing, Greg stood, ready to head back to his car and go back to the hotel and find Sara and demand answers from her. Why had she not come see him today? Why had she stood him up? The answer hit him like a ton of bricks.

She was running again. This had all been a ruse to keep him away for long enough that she could run away without him knowing where she was going.

Swaying slightly with the realization, Greg reached out for the bench for support. His entire body felt like it was shutting down. Even worse, the sky opened up, with rain pouring down on him. He barely noticed it, though; his mind was scrambling to think of any hint from the previous night's conversation that would have led him to this conclusion much sooner. The only thing that he could think of was the way she had said good-bye the previous night. Not good night, but good-bye.

His heart felt like it was going to stop beating. He should've seen this coming. Greg stood there, looking up at the sky, the torrents of rain soaking his clothes and running in rivers down his face. "Why?" he asked aloud, his tears mingling with the rain. "Why did I fall for it? I knew she was going to run again."

He had never felt stupider in his life. He should've known that this was going to happen. How could he have let himself believe that it was going to be different, when she had left the love of her life, Grissom, behind with barely a second thought? He meant nothing to her, and he never had.

With that realization, his heart crumbled into a million pieces.

Then he took a deep breath, slowly clearing his mind. He could not, whatever he did, let this break him. He could not let this break his heart into a million pieces, because then he would forget everything that he had been through to get this far. If he let this break him, he would turn into Grissom, and let Sara go in a simple act of self-preservation. But he could not do that, because Sara only thought that this was what she wanted.

Greg knew better. He knew that she did not keep running forever. And he would chase her until she was ready to stop running. He loved her that much.

Mind made up, Greg turned to head back to his car. He had another search to begin all over again, only this time, he had no clue where she might be running to.