Author's Note: Huge hugs to everyone who has reviewed thus far, I really really appreciate it. I hope everyone has a great long weekend!

Here's to chapter six! Hurrah!

"Sara, I need you to do something for me," he said, roughly pulling her into a standing position. "I need you to go lie down on the bed, and close your eyes."

She shook her head defiantly. "No."

"You don't want to die with your eyes open, do you?"

"No, I don't."

"Then lie down and close your eyes."

"No. I'm not dying tonight. No one is," Sara said, confident.

"Stupid girl. You can't promise that, now can you?" At her silence, he added, "No, you can't. So be a good girl and go lie down."

OoOoOoOoO

Catherine kept her hand on Grissom's arm as they entered the hotel, hot on Brass and Sofia's tail. She could see that Grissom was chomping at the bit to find Sara, but she couldn't let him go for fear of him doing something he would later regret.

Brass made his way to the front desk clerk, a young kid and held up his badge. "Las Vegas PD," he said quickly. "Have you seen this woman in here today?" He held up a picture of Sara for him to look at.

Frowning, he shook his head. "Nope, I haven't seen her. Should I have?"

Grissom rounded on Nick. "You told me she was here!" he seethed.

"Gil!" Catherine said, pulling him away from his friend. "Don't you dare yell at Nick." He started to interrupt, but she held up a hand and leveled him with a glare. "Stop! Do not yell at Nicky, or Greg, or Warrick, or me, or any of us for that matter. We all want to find Sara as much as you do, but getting pissy with us is not the way to do that. Do you understand me?"

Grissom nodded, tears misting his eyes. "I'm sorry, Cath," he whispered. "I just need to find her."

Catherine put a reassuring hand on his arm. "Gil," she said, looking him in the eye. "I know Sara and I have had our differences in the past, but right now, the only thing on my mind is finding her and bringing her back to you, to all of us. We all love her, and we will stop at nothing to save her."

Taking some deep breaths, Grissom turned back to Nick, who was visibly shaken at his verbal attack. "Nicky," he said quietly. "I apologize for snapping at you. I shouldn't have. I just want to find Sara, but I know that's no excuse. I'm sorry."

Nick stuck out his hand to the older man. "No hard feelings, Griss," he said a mix of relief and compassion washing over his face. "It's okay."

Brass and Sofia had stood on the outside of things, closer to the desk, watching the exchange. "That was… odd, for lack of a better word," Sofia commented.

"Yeah," Brass said, agreeing. "But like I said before…"

"Yeah," she sighed. "Yeah, Grissom loves Sara and will do anything to get her back. I know."

Brass gave her a small smile and turned back to the clerk. "You're sure about not seeing her?"

The man ran his eyes over Sara's face appreciatively, causing Grissom's anger to rise up again, but Catherine kept her hand firmly on his arm. "Nope, I would have remembered someone as hot as her walking into this place."

"Okay, well, we would like to look at the security tapes, if you please."

"Oh, well..." the counter clerk started indecisively. "I don't know about that."

Brass gave the man a glare. "We could come back with a warrant, shut your hotel down for however long it takes and tell your manager that you weren't cooperative for the police."

The man blushed furiously and retreated to the back. "I'll get those tapes for you."

OoOoOoOoO

Sara was lying down on the bed, watching him move around the room, setting up his laptop again beside her. Flashing a camera in her face, he said, "Smile babe." Before she had a chance to react, he'd taken the picture and was already loading it onto the computer, most likely to send to Grissom. "Sara, I know I told you this before, but you photograph so beautifully!" He laughed, enjoying the way she squirmed.

"Let me go," Sara said quietly. "I haven't done anything to you and neither has Gil. Please, just let me go."

He stood over her, his eyes blazing. "You have no idea who I am, do you?" She shook her head. "Sara, Sara, Sara. For someone so brilliant, you can be so damn stupid sometimes. Like now, for example."

"What are you talking about?" she asked coldly.

"Say, do the names Izzy Delancy, Penny Gardner, Raymundo Suarez, and Barbara Tallman have any meaning to you?"

Sara wasn't sure what she should say. Of course she knew who those people were, they were the victims of the… Oh, shit. Shit, shit, shit!

"I believe you and your people call me the Miniature Killer, Sara."

to be continued...