Title: Shattered

Author: innocent choir girl shannyfish (From Out of the Lab)

Summary: Someone is out to get Las Vegas' CSIs and Sara Sidle is their first victim. What happens when there are no leads to a suspect? Takes place during Season Seven.

Category: Ship Ahoy! Gil/Sara

Genres: Angst, Character Study, Drama, Established Relationship, Friendship, Hurt Comfort, Suspense

Characters: Jim Brass, Gil Grissom, Catherine Willows, Warrick Brown, Sara Sidle, Nick Stokes, Greg Sanders

Warnings: Adult themes

Rating: R

Chapter: 4 "Quality Bonding Time"

Author's Notes: none

Catherine and Warrick were outside the Mirage with Greg when Brass' car pulled up. She waited just long enough for Grissom and Brass to get out of the car before immediately starting towards them. "What the hell is going on, Grissom?" she asked holding her arms out as she walked towards him. She was upset, but not at Grissom. She just hoped that they knew more than the rest of them knew. So far they didn't know anything…

"We have to take the fact that the fact that we haven't found Sara yet, that he doesn't intend on killing…us… It looks like we're his targets, and that he'll slowly, but surely collect us one by one." He forced his voice to remain calm and pushed the shaking of his voice away. He looked around at his team and forced himself and them to do what their jobs demanded they do, follow the evidence. "What do we have to tell us what happened?"

"He left Sara's vest," Catherine spoke up as Grissom walked past her with Brass in tow. She sighed, "There's more blood, Grissom. Warrick already tested it, it's human."

Warrick held out the bag that housed Sara's vest out to Grissom. His hands were gloved, and his expression showed his worry and fear. "I can't tell how soaked the vest is… There looks like more hairs on it…but there might actually be follicular tags this time… I didn't want to lose any, so I bagged the whole thing."

Pulling gloves from his vest, Grissom put them on and slowly rolled up the edge around his wrist, so it would be easier to remove later. He opened the bag and started to examine the vest without fully removing it. "He cut it off her," he observed seeing that the shoulders were both cut. The vest that would normally be one piece was now in three. He sighed seeing the blood, and he noted the hair. A knot formed in his stomach as he closed up the bag and handed it back to Warrick. He didn't like the look of it. "What do we have on Nick?" he asked looking around.

"Just his hat," Greg said quietly. "I'm sorry, Gris. Nick told me to stay and—"

"It's okay, Greg," Grissom told him. He knew that Greg was the youngest and the least experienced of the bunch and would do as he was told by Nick…and pretty much any of the others on night shift. "We're going to find them." Once he received a nod from the young criminalist, he went on with another question, "Any blood? Other than what's on Sara's vest?"

"No," Warrick responded.

"From now on, none of us are separating…" Grissom announced.

Brass took that as his cue and spoke up, "I'll make sure you all have an escort." He flipped open his phone and turned his back and walked a couple steps away to make the call.

A thought came to Catherine's mind that scared the hell out of her. What if they weren't the only ones being flagged for attack? "Lindsey… I want Lindsey at the lab," she said aloud and turned her attention to Grissom. "He could push to going after the ones we love who live in the area…" Catherine put out. She turned to Warrick concerned, "Your wife… I'd call her."

Warrick frowned and tilted his head, and thought about what he was about to say. He hadn't planned on telling the team…not like this though…and not so soon. "We're…uh…we're not together anymore…"

"You're divorced?" Catherine asked shocked thinking that Warrick wasn't telling them anything anymore. First he had gone off and gotten married without even saying a thing to any of them, and now they'd broken it off?

"Not yet, but we're getting the paperwork together," Warrick explained.

Grissom shifted his jaw thinking, "I'd still at least make sure she had a police escort… Just to be safe."

Warrick nodded and thrust his hands deep into his pockets before turning and looking at the open Denali behind him. The tail gate with the bags containing Nick's hat and Sara's vest sat on it.

"Okay, guys…" Brass interrupted. "Let's get into our vehicles and stay together on the roads. I want us all back at CSI together."

"What about Lindsey?" Catherine asked worried about her daughter.

Brass thought about it for a minute before opening his mouth to speak. "How many people can exactly fit into one of the trucks?" he asked trying to think up a plan that involved them staying together in safety's sake.

"Two in the front, two in the middle, and three in the back," Warrick rattled off looking back at the open Denali.

Looking around, Brass took a quick tally of how many were correctly there. "Okay, I'll have officers come back and pick up my car and the other Denali," Brass announced.

"We've got evidence in our truck," Warrick spoke up.

"So, we'll get the evidence and then we'll all go and pick up Lindsey. We'll take her to the lab, and we'll order out food." He watched as Warrick pushed the two evidence bags into the back of the Denali before closing it up. He kept a close eye on the CSI as he moved to the other Denali to pull out the SAE kit and their items from that vehicle before stowing it in the back of the other Denali. "We have everything now?" he asked. "Keys? Cars are locked up?" he questioned.

After the stop to get Lindsey and to wait for the teenager to pack some things to keep her entertained and comfortable at CSI, Brass was persuaded to stop and pick up Chinese food for them all. Pulling into CSI, they all got out, retrieving the evidence, and leaving him to bring the box filled with smaller boxes of food in. He followed the group in, who seemed to make a beeline for the break room; obviously he was expected to follow with food. "There better be something to drink in here," Brass called ahead.

"I wouldn't check the fridge," Greg offered, "Grissom tends to put experiments in there and doesn't label them…"

Brass just shook his head knowing that Greg was telling the truth. Grissom was one of those people who didn't respect space and didn't think of others when he did something scientific. It was something you learned to live with. He was just happy that he didn't have to store his food in that fridge. "There still better be something to drink."

"Water."

Shaking his head as they entered the break room, Brass set the box onto the table. "Something better than water…" He saw Grissom disappear over to one of the corners of the room, and could see the grim expression on his friend's face even from where he stood. "How about we all eat now? Then I'll let you guys have your fun with the evidence," Brass suggested. He lined up the boxes on the table arranging them so that the same items were all grouped together. "Cath, can you get the plates?" he asked. Smiling when Lindsey started to help him get the food out, but he gathered that was because she wanted to eat and he was probably taking too long for her liking.

"How long do I have to stay here?" Lindsey asked as her mother handed her a plate and set the rest on the table.

"Until we know it's safe," Catherine told her daughter and handed a plate to Greg and one to Warrick, so the boys would start to help themselves. She looked over her shoulder and saw Grissom in the corner with his fingers massaging his temples. "Come eat, Gil," she said watching him. When he didn't respond, she frowned and walked across the room to him. She knew that without her at the table that her daughter and the guys would help themselves and start eating. They most likely wouldn't even notice that she had stepped away. "Migraine?" she questioned.

He peered up through his fingers and nodded slightly. Sometimes he hated that she knew him like that. But it wasn't only the aching in his head…the voices that made it pound all the more…the brightness of the light… His heart ached. He couldn't help it, he kept dwelling on the fact that there had seemed like a fair amount of blood on Sara's vest. There were no leads…and he doubted that Nick's hat and Sara's vest were going to lead them in any direction.

"Come eat."

"Not hungry," he said quietly. He knew that he should lie down, but he also knew that the evidence needed to be examined. He knew that they needed to find a lead…that they needed to find Sara and Nick. Time was running out.

"It'll make you feel better," Catherine pushed. "Just have a little bit, take something for the migraine, and go lie down for a while." She knew that he was no use to them if he was in such pain. She also knew how he felt about Sara and Nick. For a long time he'd been torn on what his relationship with Sara should be, she had even pushed him into buying Sara a plant once. And Nick, Catherine was pretty sure that Grissom felt just like they had when Nicky had been taken and buried alive. The two combined, she knew, was ripping him apart. "You'll think better after all of that…"

"We need to find them," he whispered feeling so helpless.

Looking over at the table, she saw the others eating. There were smiles, which she knew was good…it wasn't good to dwell on things when there was nothing they could do to change things… Greg, Warrick, and Brass were happily eating and conversing with Lindsey like she was part of the gang. She realized that CSI was more of her family than the one she had had back when she was married. They were a close knit group, and their lives were CSI. Turning her gaze back to Grissom, she sighed, "We're going to find them…and they're going to be safe. You need to be at the top of your game for that to happen, Gris. That means eating, and taking some time to get rid of that migraine."

Nodding slowly, so as to not jilt the migraine, he got up and headed over to the table with Catherine. Maybe she was right. Maybe he just needed some time…time to get himself together. Sitting down, he smiled over at Lindsey before getting himself some food and as he went through the different foods he stopped.

"What's wrong?" Catherine asked, not only did she want to know what was wrong, but she also wanted to get food for herself, too and he was in her way.

"None of this is vegetarian," he said aloud.

Catherine just stared at him and tried to figure out what the hell he was thinking. And then it dawned on her… She put her free hand on his shoulder and patted it lightly, "We'll pick up Sara some steamed vegetables and vegetable chow mien when we find her," she said softly realizing that had been what Grissom meant.

He just moved on and sat down staring at the food for some time before finally picking up a fork and starting to slowly eat.

TBC…