Disclaimer: CBS and Anthony Zuiker own CSI, I only borrow the characters for a bit of fun.

Thanks to: Everyone who reviewed. :D:D

A/n: Sorry this is so late. I've had computer problems, personal problems, and a general problem with what's about to happen on the show. I hope it was worth the wait.

Chapter 3

Grissom stared at him for several seconds, and then turned to Warrick and Nick. "Did you find anything?"

Nick answered, trying not to smile. "Well uh, the places we checked were clear, and from what I could see the attic was clear also. We um, we only saw it for a couple of seconds though."

Jensen jumped in. "Yeah, it was clear… of people, but there WAS something else there."

Brass cleared his throat. "Jensen, I know you might have been a bit spooked, the house is decorated with some pretty gory stuff, and it is Halloween night. Maybe you're just a little on edge."

Jensen shook his head. "No, no that's not it. I've seen some really gory stuff in my time. I was the biggest prankster in my collage fraternity, and it takes a lot to spook me. This, this was something else."

Grissom and Brass shared a look. Brass sighed and asked. "So, okay, what did you see?"

Jensen was silent for a moment, and then he spoke. "Everything was normal at first. We cleared the floors as we went, found nothing. Then I headed up to the attic. It looked fine at first, like any other normal attic, but then I saw something. It was a shadow, and I know what you're going to say, shadows happen, but this one was different. It didn't come from us, it was against the wrong wall for that, and when I ran my light over it, it didn't go away. Still, I didn't panic. I looked around for something that could make it. A person, a coat rack, something, but again, nothing, but the shadow was still there. Then, then it moved. Nick and Warrick were across the room, and weren't moving, but this shadow was. It moved toward the right, and then just disappeared. I'll admit I was startled, and maybe I ran, but it doesn't mean I didn't see what I saw. Someone was there, but it wasn't a person."

"That would be Vanessa Clark." Jeff spoke from a few feet away. They all turned to him.

"Was this Vanessa Clark in on this prank?" Brass asked. "If she's still in the house we need to find her so we can question her."

"No. No she's not in on the prank. Vanessa Clark was a student here twenty years ago. She was at a Halloween party here and things got a little out of hand. Some guys took a prank a bit too far and she ended up falling out of the attic window. At least they said she fell, but a lot of people believe she was pushed, only no one was able to prove it. Most people believe she got her revenge on the two guys involved. They both committed suicide within a year of her death. Some believe that they couldn't live with what they did, but a lot more of us believe that Vanessa made them pay. In any case, since then strange things happen. Footsteps on the stairs to the attic when no one is there, shadows on the walls that disappear. The guys know not to break up with their girlfriends here, or mistreat them, because something always ends up happening to them. From missing term papers, to their alarms going off all night long. Vanessa feels like she should stand up for the girls that can't."

Once again silence reigned. Finally Grissom spoke up. "That's a nice Halloween story, but I think it's far more likely that someone used the myth as a way to seek their revenge, or as a cheep thrill." He turned to Warrick and Nick. "Get back up to the attic, and take Jacobs here with you. Seems there's a secret passage that leads there and that's most likely where our 'ghost' is hiding."

Warrick and Nick nodded, grabbed Jeff and headed back in. Grissom turned to Sara. "What do you think?"

Sara shook her head. "I don't know. I don't write off the existence of ghosts, but…" She was interrupted by her phone. "It's Catherine. Hey Cath, did you get anything out of Mr. Jacobs?"

"Just that he says he didn't jump out of the window, he says…"

"A ghost pushed him?" Sara finished.

After a moment of silence Catherine laughed. "He's rubbing off on you. I suppose you have a name for this ghost."

"Vanessa Clark. A victim of a prank gone wrong. Grissom of course doesn't believe that for a second, but I like to think it's not totally out of the realm of possibility. I guess it's just nice to think that a victim can get a measure of justice.

Catherine was silent for a moment, then she sighed. "Yeah, I guess that is a nice thought. Listen, do you need me for anything else? Lindsey was throwing a Halloween party tonight and I wouldn't mind going by to check things out."

Sara smiled. "Hold on, I'll ask Gil." Sara turned to him, "Hey, do you need anything more from Catherine's end?"

Grissom thought for a moment, then shook his head. "Tell her she's free to go. Just make sure she saves me a candy apple."

Sara relayed the message, and Cath laughed. "I'll see what I can do, but I'll be lucky if I get one." She rang off and Sara turned to Grissom. "You know, I happen to know how to make candy apples. I'd be glad to make you a couple."

Grissom licked his lips, and waggled his eyebrows. "Well, well, well, seems you still have a few surprises tucked away."

Sara edged closer and whispered, "Baby, you don't know the half of it, and as soon as we've wrapped up this case I'll let you in on a few." She turned and walked over the waiting crowd to continue taking statements.

Grissom's heart skipped a beat as he watched her walk away, the sway of her hips mesmerizing him. A second later his thoughts were interrupted by a scream from the house."

Nick, Warrick and Jeff entered the house, the two CSI's once again on alert for any movement. They made their way to the second floor. Jeff followed them, but made sure they stayed in front of him. They turned to him. "So, where's this secret passage?" Nick asked. He pointed to a panel in the wall a couple of feet from where the bathroom door was. "Open it." Nick moved aside so he could pass him.

Jeff walked up to the wall and felt along the baseboard. The panel popped open, and Warrick gestured for Jeff to precede them into the passage. They started walking, Warrick and Nick pulled out their flashlights. They had only gone a few feet when they heard a noise from up ahead. Training their lights on the far end of the passage, the two CSI's sped up their pace, Jeff too sped up not wanting to be left alone. They weren't tying to hide their presence, so they made quite a lot of noise as they made their way down the passage. Suddenly they heard a loud bang and stopped short, making Jeff swerve to the left to avoid running into them. "Do you guys mind giving a guy a little warning?" He gasped as he leaned against the wall, catching his breath.

Warrick and Nick waved for him to be quiet, and they started to creep forward. Jeff straightened and watched as they waved their lights around, looking for the source of the sound. Suddenly he felt coldness on his neck. He rubbed his neck and moved away from the wall, and the draft he'd felt there. But the cold stayed with him. In fact, it was spreading. Shivering, he opened his mouth to ask if the other two felt the cold, but as he was about to ask, he felt a tug on his ear. A scream erupted from his mouth instead of the intended question, and without thinking he turned and ran toward the entrance.

Nick and Warrick turned and watched him flee. After a moment they shrugged. "He's not going to get too far." Warrick justified not going after hm.

Nick nodded. "Yeah, we've got the place surrounded. I think it's better for us to stick with the search." Warrick grinned in agreement, and they both turned to continue down the passage. They didn't hear any more noise, but they were sure that someone was there. They'd only gone a couple more feet when they heard the passage door open behind them. They turned and found Grissom and Sara rushing toward them.

"Hey, you guys okay?" Sara asked, panting.

"Um, yeah. What are you guys doing here?" Nick asked, concerned.

"Jeff came running out of the house mumbling about someone attacking him. We thought maybe you'd found a suspect, and when you didn't come out after him, we thought we'd better check it out." Grissom took out his flashlight and shined it on them. "So what attacked him?"

Warrick laughed. "I don't know man. We were investigating some noises up ahead when he jumped three feet in the air and screamed, taking off out of here."

Grissom grunted. "Well we couldn't get much out of him. Well since we're here, what do you say we continue, I want to get this case wrapped up."

Nick spoke before thinking. "Yeah? What do you have, a hot date?"

As soon as the word left his mouth, he slapped his hand over it. Grissom just gave him a dry look, and Sara turned away, a tell tale blush on her cheeks. Warrick coughed to suppress a laugh, and Nick sputtered to explain. "What I meant was… I mean you don't have to have a reason…" he trailed off, his face flaming brighter than a Jack-o-lantern.

They were surprised when Grissom answered. "Actually I do. I have to take Hank out for his morning walk." Nick just nodded, keeping his mouth shut lest something else slipped out, and Warrick chuckled.

Sara cleared her throat. "Okay, so are we ready to catch this guy?"

They all nodded and turned to continue down the passage. As they walked Sara's mind was on getting home. She knew Grissom had been truthful about walking Hank, but it was what would come after that she was anticipating. She had a lot of doubts right now, but the one thing she didn't doubt was Grissom's love for her. She couldn't help but think that, professionally she needed a change. A break from all the death around her. She glanced over at Grissom. She just didn't know how to tell him her feelings, which was stupid since he'd gone through something similar earlier in the year. If anyone would understand it'd be him. She just kept hoping that she'd pull out of it, and that a day would come when she didn't remember being stuck under that car, or that long trek in the desert.

Grissom glanced over and saw Sara looking at him. He couldn't help but notice the shadows in her eyes. Sometimes he felt helpless to help her. He knew she had something on her mind, but she never talked about it, and he didn't want to press her. He knew she'd talk to him when she felt like it. Frankly he had his own issues to deal with. When he'd thought he'd lost her he'd felt like his life was over. Having her back was like a dream. A dream he was afraid he was going to wake up from. He looked over at her again; her face in profile looked delicate in the glow from the flashlights. His heart swelled with love as she reached up and pushed back her hair. He swore that he'd always be there for her, no matter what she wanted. If she asked him to, he'd quit his job and travel the world with her. She glanced back over and their eyes met again. This time there as no shadow, just love and passion. They had both slowed down to a near stop when the heard a noise from up ahead. They turned back to face it, and moved forward to catch up with the guys. As they walked Grissom felt as if a warm blanket had been spread over his shoulders. He felt warm and comforted, and like all was well in the world. Sara too felt this. For the first time in quite some time she felt like she could handle anything that was thrown at her.

Smiling to themselves they caught up with Nick and Warrick who had stopped a few feet ahead of them. Suddenly Nick darted forward and sped down the passage, Warrick took off after him. When Grissom and Sara caught up they found them struggling with a figure in black. Finally they had him controlled and they pulled off the black ski mask covering the suspects face. Blond curls tumbled down, and a very peeved face looked up at them. Nick smirked down at her. "Well, well, well, looks like our ghost isn't so ghostly."

Jill Carson sat in the back of the police cruiser staring out the window. 'Damn David Jacobs!' She thought. 'This was all his fault! First he humiliated her at a party and because of that she been forced to punish him, and now SHE was the one in trouble.' Though he WAS in the hospital with several broken bones. The thought of that made her smile. 'That would teach him to ignore her.' She reached up and smoothed back her hair. She looked out the window and watched as two of the people who'd caught her talked a few feet away. She couldn't make out what they were saying, but from the amount of times the man touched the woman she figured they had to be together. The woman did her fair share of touching too, and Jill couldn't help but be envious. The love between the two was obvious. Jill sighed and murmured, "Some girls have all the luck."

"…then she slipped into the passage and waited until he came along. She lured him into the attic and hid until the moment was right, then she pushed him out of the widow. I called the hospital and talked to David Jacobs. The reason he'd told Catherine the ghost did it is that before he felt the push he'd smelled the scent of lilacs. I talked to a few other frat guys and they all said that sometimes the scent of lilacs will permeate the room. They associate the scent with the ghost." Sara trailed off and looked up at the house.

Grissom reached out and clasped her hand. "What? What is it?"

She rubbed her thumb over his knuckles and sighed. "I don't know. I just, well here's another crazy woman, taking revenge for an imagined slight to an insane conclusion. David didn't even remember her when I told him who pushed him. I told him what we'd found out from Miss Carson, that he'd chatted with her at a party, and then left with another girl. He says he talks to lots of girls, and doesn't remember her specifically." Staring up at the attic she heaved a heavy sigh. "All in all, I wish it had been a ghost out for justice. Oddly enough, that would make more sense."

Grissom pulled her to him and nuzzled her hair, not thinking of those watching. "I think that it might be a good idea if you took a little break. I always thought you came back too soon. Everyone needs a break sometimes."

Sara turned to him and gazed into his eyes, seeing the concern and love there. "I don't know. I'll think about it." Suddenly she smiled. "For now what do you say we go home and I'll try to discover a few more of your secrets, maybe play a few games?

Grissom chuckled. "Your wish is my command. Maybe we can find some use for all the leftover candy we'll have. I wouldn't want all that candy corn to go to waste."

Sara smiled, and nodded. Hand in hand they walked to the car, content in the moment.

From the attic a shadowy figure watched as the couple got into the car and drove off. Smiling to herself, the ghost of Vanessa Clark turned and headed downstairs. Those two almost made her wish she was alive again. Oh well, no sense in looking back. All she could do was make the best of what she had. She found joy in standing up for the innocent woman the frat boys treated so badly, and playing her little tricks on them. She hoped that their experiences with her taught them to be more respectful in future. She did what she could. It was a fulfilling existence. Especially when she met people like Grissom and Sara, and she couldn't help but think that there needed to be more people like them in the world.

The End.

A/n2: I hope you enjoyed the conclusion to this story. It turned out a bit different than I expected, but where the story leads I follow. I don't think I'll be writing any more until after Goodbye and Good luck airs. I just don't have the concentration, what with that and some other things going on in my life. But I promise I will continue writing and I want to think all the loyal readers that I have. Your reviews have given me joy in a time where I find little of it. I'm planning my next casefile, and of course Sara will continue to be in my stories. How she's in them depends on what they do in the show. If the writers pull some stupid trick and make her leave Grissom, hurting him, then my stories will go on as if that never happened. If they have her just take some time off then I'll work around that. Either way will fit with the story I have planned.