Note: This is the final chapter before the epilogue.

Disclaimer: I own nothing, mistakes are mine (blah blah blah)

Enjoy!

Every goal, every action, every thought, every feeling one experiences, whether it be consciously or unconsciously known, is an attempt to increase one's level of peace of mind.-Sydney Madwed

Thursday, 7:50 a.m.

The sun creped in from behind the blinds, hitting Catherine directly in the eyes. It woke her almost instantly. Stretching, she leaned up, pulled one leg over the other and got out of bed. She tiredly walked to her daughter's room, where she was happy to see her sleeping soundly.

She had the next three days off, and she planned to spend most of the time with her daughter. She wanted to make her breakfast, but it was still early. Lindsey wouldn't be up until at least ten. But that was just her normal wakeup time.

Who knows when she'll get up, Catherine thought as she walked back into the living room and plopped down on the recliner.

Closing her eyes, she allowed her mind to wonder.

It was Thursday, the day she was suppose to get fifty thousand dollars, and free Lindsey and Sara. Yet, this was their first day back home. How ironic. Had it not hurt her so much to remember, she might have laughed.

She wondered if it was too early to call Grissom. She decided it didn't matter, he should spend time with Sara; not on the phone with her. Maybe I'll watch some TV…

"Brian Collins was finally arrested yesterday; after kidnapping seventeen-year-old Linds-"

Or not

She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples as a dull pain moved to her skull. She didn't often get headaches, but when she did, they hurt like Hell.

Her eyes opened at the sound of a muffled cry coming from her daughter's bedroom. She instantly got to her feet and walked rather quickly to the bedroom door.

"Linds?" She called, knocking lightly.

"Yeah?" Came the muffled response.

"Are you ok, honey?"

"Yeah." Lindsey responded in a shaky voice.

Catherine entered the room and walked over to the bed. "Linds, don't lie to me. What's the matter?" She said as though Lindsey was five again.

"Nothing. Just a bad dream."

Catherine brought her daughter in for a hug, trying not to put to much pressure onto her back.

"Don't worry. They'll fade in a few days."

"I know, it was just… so real."

"What happened?"

"I… I was sitting in this dark room with Sara, and it was like we glued to the floor. We couldn't move. Then we heard this weird laugh, and that guy-the one who took us-walked up with a gun in his hand and said 'guess she didn't think I was serious' and… then I woke up."

Catherine sighed, remembering what Brian had said to them at the cabin. "I'm sorry, honey."

"I know it's stupid, but it just felt so real. I…" She looked down at her blanket, "I don't wont to keep having these dreams, I don't know if I can take it."

"Lindsey," Catherine said, placing a hand on her daughter's shoulder, "what doesn't kill you, makes you stronger."

XX

9:04 a.m.

Sara woke to the smell of pancakes coming from the kitchen. She smiled, and made an attempt to stretch, but winced as pain shot through her. She slowly settled back onto her pillow, closing her eyes, and patiently waiting for Grissom to return.

After a few moments, she heard the door squeak open. She opened her eyes, but saw nothing.

"Gil?" She called, her voice quiet and scratchy.

Nothing.

"Gil, this is not funny!" He voice was a little louder now.

Next thing she knew, a blur of brown and white leapt onto the bed, and began licking her face. She couldn't help but laugh, it had been a while since she'd last seen their dog; he'd been living with her and Grissom when they moved, but after she came back to Vegas, she left Hank with her husband.

"Hey, Hank!" She smiled, scratching behind his ear. Hank simply continued to lick her face. "I missed you too, buddy."

Hank let out a whimper when she stopped petting him, and pawed at her, his paw landing on her ribs.

"Ah! No Hank," She quickly pulled his paw off, "not for a while, buddy."

Hank whined again, resting his head on her shoulder and licking her face a few more times.

"Sara, is her bothering you?" came Grissom's voice.

"No, just accidentally put his paw on my stomach, but he's fine."

"Well," he said after a pause, entering the room "he needs to move, because these are for you." He showed glanced down at the tray in his hands, which contained a plate fully of syrup coated pancakes.

"You spoil me."

After whistling for Hank to get down, he smiled at her "you, and only you, my dear." He set the tray down on the bed looked back up at her. "Do you need any help sitting up?"

"No!" She said a little defensively, "I'm not paralyzed, Gil."

He watched as she used her arms to push her upward, only to grit her teeth in pain.

"You may not be paralyzed, Sara, but you're in pain. Let me help." He said, wrapping one arm softly around her back, the other scooping her up from under her legs. After settling her back onto the pillow, he stacked two more on top of it, making it more comfortable for her.

"Thank you," she smiled at him.

After finishing her meal and Grissom finished washing the dishes, they sat together in bed, watching TV, and Hank sleeping soundly between them. Grissom was flipping channels, when he passed the News channel, and a picture of Brian Collins popped.

He quickly changed it, but it was to late. She'd seen it, and now her eyes were no longer focused on the TV, but her hands. Even after watching close to thirty minutes of a rather peaceful program, she still didn't look away from her hands.

"I-Sara," He shifted, trying to get a better look at her face, even though she didn't look back. "What's wrong?" He couldn't think of anything else to ask.

"I can't stop thinking about the trial. I…I'm sure they'll nail him but… I just don't know if I can take it. Seeing those eyes again…" Her eyes started to burn, and she instinctively blinked away the tears.

He wrapped his arms around her, and she cried into his shoulder for the next several minutes, causing Hank to stir in his sleep.

The trial wasn't for another week, and Sara had the next two off.

It was going to be a long fourteen days.

XX

One week later

The entire Night Shift CSI team sat in one of the many rows of the court room. Lindsey and Sara had both already been up to the stand and were asked multiple questions, and now both were struggling to keep it together. The CSI's had already presented all of there evidence, and of course, Brian had been up to the stand as well.

But there was no doubt about it, they were going to get him.

Still, they were all nervous.

Sara could barley breath.

The one hour lunch break had just ended, and with almost everyone back in the court room, all that was missing was the judge.

Sara shifted slightly in her seat. She'd just looked behind her, only to see the dark eyes of Brian Collins staring her down. She nearly jumped out of her seat trying to turn back around. Grissom, wondering what caused Sara to jump, looked over his shoulder and noticed Brian. He squeezed her hand tighter.

She wasn't sure when she'd dozed off-she didn't even remember closing her eyes-but suddenly, Grissom was shaking her awake. After blinking a few times, she realized the judge had walked into the room, and was now seated.

Sara thought she might faint when he pointed to the jury, saying something she couldn't hear-not because she was to far. A single man stood, holing a small sheet of paper in his hand. She suddenly felt very hot, and shifted in her seat again.

Everything became silent.

This was the moment they'd been waiting for.

"Your honor," he began, looking at the judge.

Sara could have sword everyone leaned forward at the sound of his voice as he said, "we, the jury, find Brian Collins guilty of all charges."

Sara felt as though the weight of the world had been lifted from her shoulders.

She could breathe again, and she finally felt at peace.

Sorry for the shortness, I didn't want to leave a huge cliffhanger. Keep your eyes open for the epilogue!