Author's Note: I hope everyone had a wonderfully fantastical Labour Day weekend, I know I did! Had a fantastic night of Disney movies with coworkers and had my first hangover yesterday. It was grand. Actually I thought I was going to die, but I obviously haven't. Thank god. Anyway, enough about me. As always, giant thanks to each and every one of you amazing readers, I don't know what I'd do without you. I hope you like the story thus far. You must, if you've stuck with me up till this point. Thank you, so very very much. It's appreciated.

Here's to chapter seven! Hurrah!

The graveyard shift had finally gotten a hold of the security videos from the day, and Archie was sitting in the AV lab, with Catherine hovering behind him, trying to spot the familiar brunette, but there was nothing so far.

Grissom had locked himself away in his office, refusing to come out until the team found something that would help find him Sara. The rest of the team – Warrick, Nick, and Greg – were either in the break room or wandering around the lab, feeling lost without their friend. They had no evidence to go on, and were feeling helpless. They'd scoured the miniature for prints, trace, and blood, but there was nothing. Just like all of the others that had come before.

Time was running out and as the clock ticked, and desperation hung in the air. They needed to find Sara.

OoOoOoOoO

Grissom sat up in his office, going over the last time he'd seen Sara. It had been earlier that morning, when he'd left her apartment with a quick kiss and a "see you soon." He hadn't even told her that he'd loved her prior to walking out the door. He had said it to her over breakfast, and again when they were getting dressed. He hadn't thought much of it then, but now he was really starting to regret not saying it. Not just today, but in general. He didn't tell her nearly enough. And now it had come back to bite him in the ass.

He had met Sara at one of his seminars years ago, and had been immediately attracted to her fierce curiosity and spunk. She was unconventionally beautiful, with her expressive eyes, thin, angular body, and a mane of brown hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was definitely not like the blonde bombshells that assaulted him every time he walked through in Las Vegas, and she seemed to not even realize she was so incredibly captivating. Her gentle nature had shown Grissom that she was kind as well, and not just another gorgeous face in the crowd. Sara wasn't afraid to challenge him in class, and that was something he didn't see often; it had been oddly refreshing.

He smiled sadly, thinking back on it now. Grissom had called her immediately when Holly was killed, knowing that she was a dedicated worker who wouldn't miss something important. Offering her a position on his team hadn't even warranted a second thought for him; he had wanted her on the team and that was that.

A sudden thought struck him, and he felt his heart sink. What if Sara was still at home, lying on the floor, bleeding? Oh dear God… Sara! Standing quickly, he rushed out of his office, and headed straight to the AV lab, looking for Catherine.

Entering the lab, he almost barreled into her; she was still staring at the numerous screens around her. "Catherine," he said, his voice shaking. "I'm going to go check Sara's apartment, I thought she might be there. And some other places too, maybe."

His voice trailed off as Catherine's face paled. "Oh God, how did we not think to check there?" she gasped, horrified. "I'll come with you."

Grissom held up a hand. "No. I'm going by myself. I don't think there will be anything - there generally isn't with these damn miniatures, but... it doesn't hurt to check." He didn't point out that some of those other places he'd mentioned included his own townhouse. "I'll be back as soon as I can, but page me if you find anything, alright? Anything."

Catherine nodded as he walked briskly from the room, practically breaking into a bowlegged sprint as he hit the main hall. On any other, more ordinary, day, Catherine would have wondered why Grissom had the keys to Sara's apartment and when he'd gotten them, but today was no ordinary day, and the thought hadn't even crossed her mind.

OoOoOoOoO

Sara could feel the tears finally threatening to spill out of the corners of her eyes. She'd held them back for her whole ordeal so far, with the exception of Gil's letter, but this new piece of information was going to be her breaking point.

"The Miniature Killer, Sara," he repeated again, malice in his eyes.

Trying to stay calm, Sara tried a different tactic. "What about the Miniature Killer?" She saw the anger in his eyes and instantly regretted her question.

"What about the Miniature Killer?" he repeated, his eyes bulging and spit flying from his mouth. "What about the Miniature Killer!? Goddamn!"

Sara feared for her life, afraid that he would kill her now in his rage, instead of drawing it out and forcing Grissom to watch her die. It's better that way, she mused sadly. Gil won't have to watch me die. I would never be able to handle him dying before my eyes…

As if reading her mind yet again, he took some deep calming breaths and turned away from her. "Sara, I am the Miniature Killer," he stated simply, turning to face her once more, his breathing calmed. "I killed those people, and left the miniatures at their crime scenes."

"But why?"

He grinned at her, and it made her blood run cold. "Because they deserved to die."

OoOoOoOoO

Grissom drove like a madman through the busy Las Vegas traffic, racing to his townhouse. He really didn't care about anything right now, because all he wanted was Sara safe again and back in his arms.

He flew into the parking lot, and screeched to a halt in his regular parking space. Grissom barely took the time to shut the car off before he raced to his front door. Jamming the key into the lock, he swung the door open and rushed inside, letting it slam shut behind him, leaving an eerie echoing silence throughout the empty townhouse.

He swore and stormed out of his house after thoroughly checking it for any sign of the missing scientist. There were signs of their cohabitation, of course, but nothing truly out of the ordinary. Her clothes scattered in their room, feminine toiletries in the bathroom, two toothbrushes in the cup beside the sink, but nothing to make him suspect that she had been here without him.

Getting into his car, he drove blindly time to Sara's apartment, not knowing how he got there without killing himself, or someone else. Upon arriving, he ran up the stairs and almost kicked the door down when the key wouldn't slide into the lock because of his trembling fingers. Swearing at his lack of control, he finally got the key in and pushed through the door.

OoOoOoOoO

"Why did those people deserve to die, exactly?" she asked, trying to understand this man's obvious psychopathy.

"Because," he said, tears in his eyes, effectively rendering Sara speechless. "They were the ones who were supposed to protect me… save me… "

Sara was confused. "What are you talking about?" she snapped. Anger flared in his eyes again, and Sara sank back into the small comforts of the bed pillows.

"My childhood…" he broke off, almost as if he didn't know how to continue.

"Yes?"

"…was horrible."

"Well, I'm sorry," she said, feeling not at all sorry for him. "My childhood was pretty shitty too, you know, but I'm not a raving, psychopathic, serial killer."

"Not yet."

"No. Not now, not ever," Sara said quietly. "I love the people around me, and I would never take another human life out of rage or a misguided sense of justice."

"Really?"

"Really."

"Well, that makes us different then, doesn't it?"

"Yeah, it does. I'm the one who was kidnapped by a madman, not the other way around," she ground out, no longer caring if her words were only provoking this lunatic. He nodded slowly. "Why don't you let me go, and we can get you some help." She tried speaking to him again, this time in a more placating manner.

He gave Sara another glare before storming to the door. "I'll see you when I get back," he snarled, abruptly leaving.

"What the hell…?" she muttered, wondering how she'd gotten herself into this mess.

to be continued...