Chapter Two: Bring Him Home

"When was the last time you saw him?"

"Last night, at the party," Sara responded quietly, hands clasped in front of her. It was the only tactic she could use to keep her hands from shaking, but even still a slight tremor raced through.

Sara could hardly remember what transpired after she learned of Greg's fate. Supposedly she blacked out, waking up to the entire night shift circling around her. It hadn't taken her long to switch back to her old methods, shutting everyone out, putting on a false expression. She was fine, she didn't need to be babied, didn't need to be watched.

Things had changed yet again however once they learned that she and Greg were supposed to meet up. Now it was a serious of questions. Strangely enough they had been nice enough to use just a simple office, and not haul her down to interrogation. Even so, it didn't changes things for the better.

"And you talked to him last?"

"That same night as well," she breathed.

"Before or after you left?" Catherine wanted to know, raising an eyebrow.

"At the party," Sara snapped, avoiding the other woman's gaze. Ever since becoming Grissom's right hand she had gotten bossier. Sure, there had never really been a time when they were friends, but at least before they could tolerate one another. Now it was all Sara could to do to keep from tearing her head off. After all, it had been Catherine's idea to question her as a suspect. Or as she like to put it, 'a person of interest'.

"When were you expecting him to show up at your place?" she asked next, arms folded as she leaned against the desk.

"Whenever he showed up," Sara told her quietly, growing tired of the endless ring of questions. "It wasn't anything specific; I asked if he wanted to come over, he said he was going home to change first. I thought it would take about an hour."

"After an hour passed and he didn't show up, what did you do?"

"I just waited…"

"You didn't call?" Catherine raised an eyebrow, frowning. "If someone just didn't show up, I certainly would."

"I figured he was running behind," Sara whispered, "If I thought anything was out of the ordinary, I would have, believe me."

"So Greg disappears without word and that doesn't worry you?"

She frowned, muttering under her breath. "I didn't know that he was missing until today. I figured he went home, and fell asleep. We were tired, the both of us."

"Are you and Greg dating?"

The question caught her off guard. Not so much as the question itself, but the person asking it. Grissom was watching her from over his glasses, head resting in one hand as he leaned back in his chair. He seemed relax, oddly enough, hiding behind a mask.

"No…we're just…we're not." Sara shook her head, unable to find the words to fill in the gaps. A few nights out here and there didn't count as dating, did it? She laughed bitterly at that idea; of course it didn't. She and Greg were just friends…sure they flirted constantly, and there wasn't a moment that Greg didn't hit on her…and it was true that he was on her mind a lot. But all of that was because they spent a lot of time with one another, not just at work, but while they were away from the lab as well.

"Besides…what does that have to do with anything?"

"If you and Greg are dating, it changes things around completely," the man responded dryly.

"Greg and I," Sara let out a sigh, closing her eyes. "Greg and I are just friends, and even if we were dating, it wouldn't make any difference. You're not honestly thinking I could have something to do with this?"

There was silence in the room, stretched thinly over several long minutes. Sara sat still in her chair, breathing deeply to keep herself from panicking. She hadn't had time to reflect on the situation yet. She just knew the basics…Greg's disappearance. It could mean nothing…and yet everything entirely.

"No known threats, or people of interest," Nick stated, coming into the room. He stopped once seeing everyone there staring at him. "What is this?"

Grissom cleared his throat, pulling off his glasses. "We're interviewing a person of interest now."

Sara wanted to cry, probably would have if Nick didn't cut in, his voice tense, and rising a notch as he continue. "Are you freaking kidding me? Greg's out there somewhere, possibly dying or even dead, and you're interviewing Sara?"

"We find a lead, and we follow it," Grissom stated calmly, as if not even thrown off by the anger in the Texan's voice.

"What lead?" Nick exclaimed, shaking his head, "That Sara and Greg are friends? Hell, then you'd better investigate me. Greg and I are went out to a bar the night before, who knows, maybe I slipped something in his drink?"

"It's not the same," Grissom started, but Nick held up his hand, shaking his head.

"There is no difference. Instead of wasting your time in here, you could be searching for Greg."

"We follow the evidence," Catherine cut in, hoping to convince the Texan that what they were doing was indeed justified, but Nick was already turning to leave.

"Then follow real evidence."

Sara let out an exasperated sigh, crossing her arms over her chest as she leaned back in the chair. "Can I go now?"

Grissom was silent as he nodded, Catherine moving to say something before being silenced by the older man. Sara didn't need a second invitation, and was out in the hallway, using long strides to catch up with Nick.

"What do you know?"

"Not a whole lot," he replied, seemingly unsurprised to see her there. "Archie's pulling Greg's phone records; I'm on my way to see what he has."

Sara nodded, disappointed in the simple fact they had no real evidence as of yet. Doing the math in her head she realized that as of now, Greg had been missing for thirteen hours. By normal standards it wouldn't have been enough to raise any alarms. But with the finding of his car, and the lack of his presence it was enough to get everyone into gear.

Archie was hard at work, bent over his computer, his gaze shifting from his own screen to the enlarged one up on the wall. He barely gazed at the new occupants, merely motioning to the wall as he pulled up the list.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, calls to and from the lab, Warrick, Nick, Grissom, Catherine…anyone in the lab is fair game. A few calls to his parents place, a number to and from Sara."

"We work nearly every case together," she replied grippingly, "Communication is a must."

"Not saying anything," Archie said with a simple shrug. "There's no numbers out of the ordinary, it's all generic."

"What was his last call?" Nick wondered, "And to whom?"

"Let me check," Archie scanned the list, moving to the bottom of the page. "Sara's cell, at seven this morning."

She blinked, biting her lip to keep herself at bay. "This morning?"

The phone had gone off this morning, and she had avoided it, had ignored it…purposely.

"You never picked up," Archie stated quietly, to which Sara nodded.

"I didn't…I thought it was Grissom trying to call me in early," she breathed, the lie coming out easily. "I didn't even check the ID."

"I'll check with Warrick," Nick stated after a moment of silence. "Maybe he's found out something with Greg's car…"

Sara nodded, taking in a breath. "I'll check the syringe, and other drugs…if they're pharmaceutical we can trace them maybe, find some connection…"

"Its better then sitting here doing nothing," Archie commented, putting his headphones back on.

It was something she could agree with.

Days passed and soon stretched into a week. The search for Greg Sanders was effectively called off. Sara had remained persistent that they needed to keep it up. They were no closer than they had been before…which is why they had to keep searching.

Sara knew, knew that if it had been anyone else, the search would have been called off near the end of the third day. It was now a body retrieval, something she did not like to think about. All her efforts had been in vain. The drugs were all off the streets, and with traces of them all in the syringe it was impossible to tell what, if anything, was injected into Greg, or anyone else.

There was no useable DNA, or any indication that someone had been with Greg. Her stomach turned at the thought. It couldn't be real…Greg just couldn't disappear without a trace. Sara closed her eyes as the tears threatened to fall, fingernails digging into her arms as she tried to breathe.

She wasn't ready for this…she wanted him…needed him. It had taken her some time to realize this, to realize that it had been Greg that had kept her sane for all these years. It was Greg she told her most in-depth secrets to, her greatest fears. It was Greg she had relied on when her depression had hit her the hardest, and Greg who had convinced her that she didn't need Grissom to fulfill her needs.

How could she have ever let something that good slip through her fingers? Her thoughts drifted back to what Grissom had asked, or at least, assumed. Had she and Greg really been that close to portray a sense of…companionship? Of belonging with one another? Something that was strong enough that her own boss, someone who was completely void of any and every human emotion, had been able to sense?

Clearing her throat she moved her feet, trying to forget everything that was going on. Greg was still out there somewhere, and until he was found she needed to keep it together. After all, people had been gone longer without word to only show up completely safe and sound. The lack of evidence was heartbreaking, but finding none either could be hopeful. Hopeful in the sense that Greg had indeed gone off under his own will for one reason or another.

But try as she might, Sara could not bring up any reason to as why he would. Greg had been, after all, in a wonderful mood the night of the party. A little stung that she had gone with Nick instead, but reasonable, and even afterwards when she talked with him, he had be bragging about all the 'pretty ladies' he had danced with in her absence.

It was Greg who suggested that she picked up some food for the evening, and he had been adamant about hurrying on over one changing. Sara had even teased him about it, stating that there was no need to do so. She shook her head once again. No…Greg wouldn't have just disappeared.

But that left her with the other problem on her mind. If he didn't just walk off…something had happened to him. That something wasn't the scenario she wanted to think about.

More than anything she wanted it to be a dream. She'd wake up on her sofa, stiff from sleeping on the lumpy material, head pounding from the intoxicating drinks with the smell of booze lingering in the air. Greg would be waiting for her on the other side of her door, ready to scold her as he cleaned up the mess. I thought we talked about this, would be what he would say, and Sara would sit there and apologize, stating that she hadn't meant for it to happen.

They would talk quietly for a while, before Greg would apologize, pull her into a hug, and say with a sigh that he just wanted her to be happy. That all he wanted was to make sure that she would be okay.

Sara smiled timidly at the thought. Greg had always made sure she came first. He never really thought about his own needs, and the remorse she was feeling now that she could not return the favor was overwhelming.

Tears brimming at her eyes, she turned as her name was called, coming to a stop in front of Grissom's office. The scientist had pulled off his glasses, taking a sip of the steaming liquid as he made a face. "You should go home."

"And do what?" she wondered mildly. It wasn't like she had much of a choice. Sara had been home all of two hours since Greg's disappearance, sleeping mostly in the break room, and hardly remembering what, or even if, she had eaten.

"This isn't healthy. There's nothing more you can do. You need to let it go."

She sniffed, shifting to lean against his doorframe. "Let it go? Is that what you would say if it was me?"

She could see him shift uncomfortably, a frown covering his face. "I may not be able to do much…but I will tell you one thing. I'm going to find him….and I'm going to bring him home. That's where he belongs."

She could see Grissom frowning, moving to say something else but she didn't give him the time. She wasn't like Grissom; she couldn't shut her feelings, her emotions out. It just wasn't her. Greg was more than a friend, he was…he was a part of her. Part of her past, and for a while, even now, she had hoped he would be a part of her future.

But as the hours went by, Sara knew that would be even less of a chance.

She got the call later that night. It wasn't one she wanted, her heart seizing in fear as she drove out to the coordinates. Part of her as hoping it was a prank, but somewhere, somehow she knew it was him. There were no descriptions, just the fact that a body had been found. Sara knew that with as many people as there were in Vegas, it could be anywhere. After all, there were a number of body dumps along this stretch.

She was one of the first there. A lone police officer who had received the call, plus the driver who had spotted him filled the black night. As much as he wanted to barrel past the makeshift rope, Sara knew she had to cover all her points. Up ahead she could see Robbins on the ground alongside David, the two blocking her view from the body.

"Rick Morrison, you found the body?" Sara asked quietly, coming up to the nervous man. He was scrawny; pale almost, a possible drug junkie which would explain his odd location. The man nodded, clearing his throat.

"Was meeting my boys…had some good drug raids…awfully cold out here."

"Morrison is a repeat offender," the officer explained quietly. "We've picked him up numerous times."

Sara nodded, her eyes shifting back to where the body lay as David stood, moving to the other side. In the dim light she could see the legs, but that was about it. Her attention moved back to the man just then.

"Were you out here selling drugs?"

The man nodded, then shook his head. "Not selling…selling's illegal, I was…I was buying them…I have this habit, I've tried to stop, but it doesn't work…"

"You are confessing to illegal possession of drugs," Sara informed him, raising an eyebrow.

"Yeah," Morrison nodded, "I didn't kill the guy, I just wanted everyone to know that. I have an alibi…might land me in jail but selling drugs is less than murder and I didn't hurt no one."

Sara nodded, slightly amused but excused herself then, seeing that backup was nearing, lights flashing in the darkness. She could hear the quiet muttering of the two men as she neared, David looking up at her as knelt on the ground.

"I don't think you should…"

He had stopped, more in likely silenced by Robbins as she looked on. Her breath was caught in her throat as she took in his pale complexion; arms crossed over his chest and folded neatly, eyes barely visible through the mask. Save for a few bruises, and a dry cut along his forehead, he was flawless.

Slowly she reached up, pulling off the hat, leaving only the bandanna in his hair. She knew about crime scenes, knew that if they wanted to catch his killer things needed to be intact, but she couldn't help herself. She needed to see him, needed to see him for himself.

Reaching under his head she untied the strands to his mask, pulling it free from his face, faint indentations of the ends left on his skin. He looked so peaceful, and at the same time so timid and young. He was more a kid than anything else, and Sara could not even begin to imagine the fear he faced starting that night.

"How?" she asked quietly, her fingers running along his forehead, grazing the cut that remained there.

"He has some common signs of toxic poisoning, but until we perform an autopsy we won't know for sure." Robbins explained. "Body's been moved, he wasn't killed here, but his core temperature suggest he's been kept somewhere cold. There's been no insect activity, so he hasn't been out here long. My suggestions are that he was killed the same night as the party."

"Wrong place, wrong time," Sara stated quietly, biting her lip as she drew her fingers through his hair, pulling the bandana free. "I'm so sorry."

She would find out all the details later, and even now, being here, seeing him now, she couldn't bring herself to face the true reality. Somehow she knew that later on, she would have to, but for now, for now she could live in denial, and forget her fears, her worries, and her regrets. With a soft smile she leaned forward, her hair hiding her face as she stroked his hair easily, whispering in his ear.

"I'm here to take you home."

The End

Not the usual Character Death, no big tears, no overwhelming angst; that will be saved for another story. I was hoping for an ending more along the lines of closure, and not satisfaction, just trying to expand my options as I see them. Might do a sequel to this to tie up any questions, but I'm not sure as of yet.

Don't forget to review!