Note: First off, I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed my story. Even though there are only a few, the feedback still means a lot! I will try and respond to every review I get. Thanks again to everyone, and don't forget to review!

Also, I'm sorry for any future delays. I'm a very busy person, and my time on the computer is limited. *I own nothing! All mistakes are mine!* Now, enough of my blabbing… please enjoy!

Chapter 3:

Saturday, 5:47 a.m.

"We want $50,000 by next Thursday, midnight. That's five days. Drop off is at the burned down flower plant…" read Dr. Ray Langston.

"…Bring no police with you, or their dead. Bring no weapons, or their dead. If you want both of them back alive, you will follow these instructions exactly as they are. No tricks." He paused.

"But remember this, Catherine Willows: Anything that happens to them is your fault."

"My fault?" asked Catherine Willows, "How the hell is any of this my fault!"

"Wait a minute," Nick Stokes interrupted, "How do they know your name?"

"How the hell should I know?" Catherine spat. Nick put his hands up in surrender like motion. "Sorry!" He said.

"No, I'm sorry, Nicky, it's just…" She could feel the tears stinging in her eyes, and tried her hardest to keep them from falling.

She felt Nick place a hand on her shoulder. "Naw, its ok, Cath." He said, "I understand."

Catherine looked up at him and nodded, she knew he understood. She looked back at Ray, "Let's look at the picture again," She said, "Maybe it could tell us where they are if we get a closer look."

"I'll take it to Archie." Piped Greg Sanders, "Have you dusted it for prints yet?"

"Yes," Said Ray, "One on the front, four on the back, Mandy's running them now."

"What about the two blood pools?" Asked Nick, "Did we get any DNA from them yet?" Ray shook his head, "There still running."

"And the gun was mine," Catherine sighed, "It wasn't fired, and the only prints we got off it matched Sara's."

"Well, I get the picture to Archie; maybe he can pick up something." Greg sighed and walked out of the room, photo in his gloved hand.

There was an awkward silence for a moment, then Nick spoke up, "Uh…Catherine," He started, "Have you, um, notified Grissom?" Catherine nodded, closing her eyes. "Yeah, he's on his way. He…he said he'd be here by…" She looked at her watch. "By about nine in the morning."

That gave them roughly three hours to get as much evidence together as possible before he arrived.

What would she tell him, though? Was this really her fault?

Nick seemed to sense she was feeling guilty, "Catherine," He said in a stern, yet tender voice, "None of this is your fault."

Catherine could have cried, right then and there, but her pager beeped; making her jump. "DNA results are in!" She said, and the three quickly walked down the halls to the DNA lab.

They were met by a stressed-looking David Hodges. It was very odd to see him like this; his manner was usually nosy, cocky, and unable to stop kissing up. The only time he wasn't his usual self was when he was thinking of his dear friend Wendy; who had left to be a 'field mouse' in Portland. Ever sense, he had moments where he just wasn't the same.

However, this was different. He look on his face was one of shock, and concern.

"I got something off of both blood pools," He started, "The one on the wall was male. But when I ran it, it didn't get a full match, but, it did have enough in common with someone in the system to be a brother or father."

"Ok…who?" Catherine asked, making circle motions with her hands, signaling him to continue.

"Does the name Gerald Collins ring a bell?" He asked.

Catherine's eyes widened and a hand covered her gaping mouth. She felt as if she'd been kicked in the stomach. Her knees buckled and she all but fell into Nick's arms. "Whoa!" He gasped as he shifted to catch her. "You recognize the name?"

She slowly nodded, "y-y-yeah, I-I-I put him away just over a month ago for hitting another car while under the influence; the other driver was badly injured."

She felt hot tears begin to form in her eyes, and she couldn't hold them in any longer. "His brothers were pissed! I mean, you should have been at the trial…seen their faces… they swore they'd get-" She couldn't finish the sentence, but everyone knew what was next.

"Wait a minute, Cath…Do you remember their names?" Dr. Ray asked eagerly.

"Uuhh…" She thought aloud, tears still falling down her face, "Yes! Brian… and… Jacob Collins!"

"What about a description?"

She rubbed her eyes, "Not a very detailed one..."

"Well, what can you remember?" Ray asked.

"Both were white, about six two, and big; I mean, muscular. Probably weighed close to two hundred pounds. Brain had short black hair, brown eyes, and a small, black mustache, and Jacob had blonde hair, and…" She paused, and then sighed, "That's all I remember…"

Nick wrapped his arms around her, "That's plenty of details, Cath." He said, then look up at Ray, "I'll call Brass; and have him put out a bolo on Brian and Jacob Collins." He pulled out his cell, and started dialing.

"Wait!" Ray blurted, "What was the second blood pool?"

The satisfied smirk quickly evaporated from his face. "Sara's."

Nick's eyes closed and his nostrils flared. "I'm callin' Brass." He growled and placed the phone two his ear.

"Brass," Answered a hoarse voice.

"Jim, its Nick. I need you to put out a bolo on Brian and Jacob Collins. We think…" He paused, and turned to make sure Catherine was out of ear shot.

"We think they're the ones who have Sara and Lindsey." He whispered.

Brass listened as the CSI described both men. "Good job, Nicky!" He said just before hanging up, only to flip his phone open again, and dial another number.

"This is Jim Brass; I'm calling to put out a bolo on Brian and Jacob Collins…"

A noise woke Sara from her light sleep.

Or was it the feeling of someone grabbing and pulling at her arm?

She couldn't be sure.

Her eyes blinked rapidly at the sudden feeling of nails digging into her skin, and warm blood stating to creep onto her arm.

But what really got her moving was Lindsey shrieking her name.

"SARAAAA!" She shrieked.

For some reason, the blind folds and tape had been removed from both women, and Sara could see perfectly clear. What idiots, She thought.

But her thoughts only lasted for a few moments; Lindsey was desperately trying to hold onto her, and one of the men was trying to pry her from the older woman. Sara reacted immediately and kicked the man square in the face. Lindsey crawled away, and raped her arms around Sara like a child would do to its mother.

Sara instantly began to rock her, and rub the back of her head as if she really was a little child. "Sshh, its ok, Linds," She hummed, hoping to calm the weeping teen, "I won't let him hurt you."

"You little bitch!" The man snarled and grabbed Sara by her hair; only to get kicked even harder where the sun don't shine.

Backing them into a corner, Sara continued to cradle Lindsey until she had fallen asleep in her arms. But by then, the man had begun to walk towards her again. "If you ever want to have children," She growled, giving him her famous death stare, "I suggest you don't come any closer."

He seemed to think about this for a moment, then did the smart thing and left the room. Sara sighed aloud, and ran her fingers through Lindsey's hair; still trying to make her feel safe, even in her dreams.

I will get us out of here, Lindsey

No matter what it takes, I won't let them hurt you

Only then did she allow a few tears to escape her eyes, she'd held them in for too long, and the thought of not getting out alive was too much for her. What if something happened to Lindsey? Sara wouldn't be able to face Catherine again, and she wouldn't blame the older CSI if she didn't want to speak to her for the rest of her life.

Suddenly Sara could hear the two men arguing. She had to listen closely, but she once she could hear them, a smile formed on her face.

"Jacob! What the hell did you do?" One asked.

"I just wanted to have a little fun with her," The other; now known as Jacob, stated dumbly.

"Not that, you idiot! Someone put out a bolo on us!"

"WHAT? How do you know? What did they say?" Jacob screamed. Sara heard the other man shush him.

"I was at the convenient store about twenty miles down the road, and I saw it on the TV. It said: 'Jacob and Brian Collins wanted for questioning, if you have any idea of their whereabouts, please contact the LVPD.' Then they described us! How are we supposed to get food?" The other man; now known as Brian asked.

Jacob covered his face with his hands. What if they got caught? They'd never get Gerald out of jail!

"Nobody saw you, did they?" he asked, a hand still covering his face.

"I-I-I don't think so…Once I heard are names I was out of there!"

This isn't good….This isn't good….Jacob was pacing now. They need to get that money; and soon.

"I say we just dump 'um somewhere and run off to Mexico!" Brian said, pointing to the room where Lindsey and Sara were.

All this got was a slap to the face. "How can you say that?" Jacob hissed, "He's our brother! He'd do the same for one of us!"

Brian rubbed the red spot on his face. "Whatever," He sighed, "But the second I hear the cops, I'm out of here."

Jacob was disgusted. How could he let their brother rot in jail? It just wasn't fair, Gerald had been such a good man all his life, and then one bad decision ruins it all! Jacob just knew that that blonde cop (or whatever she said she was) had lied. His brother wasn't an alcoholic! This was a 'win win' situation: Get Gerald out of jail, and get revenge on the bitch that put him there.

The thought of revenge cast an evil smile on his face.

Originally, he'd planned on taking the daughter. But then, some stubborn baby-sitter shows up and ruins all his fun! Now what was he supposed to do with them?

How… boring he thought.

By then, the tears had stopped. Sara looked around the dark room, the investigator within her taking in every detail. She noticed a window to her right, but all plans of escaping were useless against its prison like bars.

Her head dropped slightly.

They were trapped.

She began to think about the conversation she'd over heard between the two men, and felt slightly relieved.

It wasn't over.

They were looking for them.

They might just get out of this hell hole alive.

She knew that, eventually, one of them would have to go out get more food. Surely, someone would recognize them, and they'd be saved. Right? Maybe someone had already alerted the police? She placed her free hand over her eyes. All she was doing was getting her hopes up.

Hope.

That was all they had left.

Even if the window was free of bars, they were in some deserted house out in the desert. She remembered Lindsey claiming that she couldn't hear any more cars, and that she thought they were in the middle of nowhere.

Or are we? Sara thought. She recalled one of the men saying he saw the broad cast at a convenient store about twenty miles down the road. Plus, if he used the car, there would be tire tracks….

A wicked smile played on Sara's face.

Thank you, Lindsey

Piece by piece things began to come together, and her smile grew wider.

She had a plan.

Note: Sorry for the long delay! School, soccer, and sleep have taken up a lot of my time. I hope this was worth it! Please review… and I'm open for ideas if you have any.