A/N: I'm posting this rather quickly before running off to school for the day. If there are any mistakes, I apologize. I'll check it over more carefully when I return tonight. I hope you enjoy the adventures of our favorite CSIs!

Chapter 24

Nick and Warrick stood in the light that was shining down from the streetlamp into the parking lot. Catherine stood with her hands on her hips as she stared at a visibly upset Sophia who was bouncing from hysterics to anger and back again, while Greg sat on the porch clearly in his own state of upheaval.

"What's going on?" Grissom asked Conrad as the bald man stood with his hand on Greg's shoulder to comfort him.

"It was her!" Greg blurted out as he looked up at Sara and Grissom. "She came back!"

"Who?" Sara asked. "The woman who attacked you last night?"

"She was peering into Sophia's window when Greg saw her from his doorway," Conrad explained as he looked at the blonde woman who was now pacing before him.

"Are you sure it was the same woman?" Grissom asked.

"Positive," Greg said with a shudder. "Same big hair, same big heels and pink leg thingies! She looked like she stepped out of a Madonna video."

"Did you see her?" Grissom asked Sophia. "Is that why you screamed?"

"Uh," Greg said quietly. "That wasn't her. I sort of screamed a little bit."

"A little bit?" Sophia asked with evident shock. "I was all the way in the bathroom and heard you!"

"You sure do spend an awful lot of time in the bathroom," Nick said grimly.

"It was all those lemons she ate," Warrick told him. "Cleaned her out like Draino."

"I didn't "eat" the lemons—idiot!" Sophia scoffed.

"Idiot?" Catherine grumbled. "He isn't the one who tried to rub rotting lemons in his hair!"

"That was you who screamed?" Sara asked with half a smile as she looked at Greg.

"Well—she was big!" Greg explained. "And when she heard me, she turned around and looked right at me. I thought for sure she was going to come after me again, but then Nick and Warrick and everyone came running out."

"And no one caught up with her?" Grissom asked.

"I didn't see her," Nick told him. "Warrick and I looked around but there were no signs of her. It was like she disappeared into thin air. I don't know why you and Sara didn't see her. Greg said you both were out checking tracks you found before dinner."

"Checking tracks, my ass!" Sophia complained but Ecklie spoke up.

"That's another thing, Grissom. I can really appreciate the fact that you want to get this case finished—but you've been working Sara way too hard these past two days. There's no reason you should have had her out there in the middle of the night looking at trails that could've waited until tomorrow morning. If you don't let her get some sleep soon, she isn't going to be any good to any of us and we can use all the hands we have."

"They weren't looking for trails!" Sophia said with disbelief.

"Oh, Sophia," Catherine said as she turned back toward her own room. "Get over it! I know Gil, and believe me, he'd never take someone out into the middle of the desert for a quickie. He's too stuffy to even come up with the idea. So you can get that little fantasy out of your bubble-head."

"Catherine," Ecklie called after her, making the redhead stop and look back at him. "I know you're not going to want to hear this, but under the circumstances I think it would be best to put Sophia in the room with you and Sara. I don't want anyone alone."

"I'm not going to sleep in the same room as Sara and Catherine!" Sophia retorted.

"Would you rather sleep with our wandering lunatic?" Ecklie turned back toward Grissom. "Anyway, I don't think any of us are going to get much sleep for awhile. Warrick, did you get through to the sheriff?"

"He's on his way. He said he'll get the deputy and call in a few more to help search the area."

"Are we supposed to look around?" Sara asked as she brushed her hands down the front of her jeans to knock off a piece of dried weeds and in the process realizing that her panties were partially hanging out of one of the front pockets.

"Whatcha got there?" Sophia asked with saccharine sweetness just gushing from her as she looked at Sara who was now stuffing the satin cloth into hiding. "A little satin and lace? Funny place to put your underwear, Sara—especially in the middle of the damned desert!"

Sophia seemed especially satisfied with the doe-eyed look she received from Sara and almost laughed until she saw Greg step toward the other woman and grab the pink object.

"You found them!" Greg said stupidly, turning Sara and Grissom toward him in question before he went on to finish his thought. "That's what the Amazon was wearing! You must've found them after she ran off!"

"Her underwear?" Sophia scowled. "You saw her underwear?"

"I told ya she was dressed like Madonna! Didn't Madonna wear her underwear over her clothes?"

"Her bra, stupid!" Sophia told him. "Not her freaking panties!"

"Well," Greg said as he thought a moment. "She was. . .confused! I never said she was a "brilliant" woman—only a Madonna wannabe!"

"Greg," Ecklie looked at the young man holding the pink lace and satin article. "Try not to handle them too much. We can take them in for DNA testing."

"Oh," Greg seemed to deflate before their very eyes. "I—uh—well—they aren't "really" the Amazon's."

"They're not." Ecklie looked at him with a raised brow.

"Of course they're not!" Sophia told him with exasperation.

"Would you like to fill us in on whom they might belong to?" Ecklie asked.

"Uh. . ." Greg gave a huge gulp, then went on weakly. ". . .they're. . .mine."

"Yours!" Sophia gave an unbelieving laugh. "Yours!"

"Well," Greg seemed to be turning all shades, changing from embarrassed pink to red, then a pale white and finally a sickly green. "Sometimes I like to feel pretty?"

"Ah, man," Nick scrunched up his face as he looked at his young friend. "That's something I didn't need to know about you! Jesus!"

Warrick simply chuckled as he pulled the panties from Greg's hands. "They aren't yours. What'd ya do, big guy? Hire one of the locals for the night?"

"Oh, come on!" Sophia nearly stomped her foot. "They're Sara's!"

"What would Sara be doing with her under clothing in her pocket, Sophia?" Ecklie scoffed. "You're not making sense. Evidently Sara found them out there while they were looking for tracks. I don't know "what" Greg's talking about, but I doubt very highly that he'd have the nerve to try to hire a hooker, especially while we're here working a case. So, what "were" you talking about and why are you lying about evidence?"

"I—uh-. . ."

"He knows I've been having problems with incontinence," Sara blurted out then turned bright pink when she looked over at Grissom who was, as usual, just standing by and watching the story unfold before him. "He wanted to save me the embarrassment of telling you that I peed on them a little."

"So you took them off but not your jeans? Ah, come on!" Sophia said sarcastically.

"What can I say? I had to pee while we were out there and when I squatted down, it got on my panties, but missed my jeans. So I took them off and put my jeans back on. Nothing so bizarre about that, is there?"

"Oh, no. Nothing," Sophia agreed. "Other than you're out in the middle of nowhere—in the dark—relieving yourself in front of Grissom!"

"Well, it isn't as if I stand around watching women urinate, Sophia," Grissom told her. "I don't find that especially attractive."

"Ew!" Sara spoke up quickly. "Is that it? Soph's into voyeurism! She likes to watch people go to the toilet!"

"You're disgusting," Sophia mumbled.

"Alright," Ecklie turned away from the group in exasperation. "I don't think I need to hear any more about Sara's personal health problems, or her hygiene. That's a bit more than I needed to know. Sara, go tend to your. . .problem."

"I'll be right out," Sara told him then disappeared into the motel room when she came out she found the sheriff and Deputy Higgins as they talked with Ecklie and Grissom while several other officers wandered about looking for any signs of the intruder.

It took another two hours before they were given the go-ahead to go to bed for the rest of the night, but upon seeing Sara settling on the bed nearest the bathroom while Catherine spread herself on the one closest to the door, Sophia dropped her evidence case on the floor with a huge clatter.

"Sophia!" Catherine voiced her irritation. "Do you mind! Some people around here are tired and need their sleep!"

"Man," Sara yawned into the pillow as she stretched her sore body. "I know I'm exhausted. I could sleep for a week."

"Oh, who cares what you could do!" Sophia moved to the edge of Catherine's bed. "Move over."

"Go sleep with her. I'm comfortable just the way I am and I'm not moving."

"I'm not. . ."

"Move it or lose it, blondie!" Catherine growled.

Sophia walked over and looked down at Sara with a grimace before gingerly sliding onto the mattress next to her. Sara opened one eye to look at her and stifled a chuckle at the stiffness of the other woman's body as she lay like a board.

"What's so funny?"

"You," Sara told her. "What's the matter? Not in the mood to cuddle?"

"Oh, you'd like that, wouldn't you?" Sophia turned away from Sara with an angry jerk. "Just to make Grissom think you were some hot bi ready to play sex games in some freaky orgy!"

This made Sara chuckle again as she turned her back toward her. "Sorry, kiddo, but I don't care how much I want a man, I'm not into the ménage a trios scene and never will be. But I hear there's an overly affectionate Amazon out there roaming about who might be interested in your fantasies."

"MY fantasies!" Sophia gasped. "I never said I. . ."

"Sophia!" Catherine practically yelled at her. "Would you shut the hell up? And goddammit, if I can't trust you over there with Sara, you're gonna have to go sleep in the tub!"

"You two can just go to hell!" Sophia got back up from the bed and stormed off toward the door. "You two deserve each other!"

"Well, we sure as hell don't deserve you," Catherine told her sleepily. "Now go to bed and shut up!"

"I'm not going to bed with you two! I've had enough!" Sophia growled as she yanked the door open but the sight of the tall woman with busy auburn hair that fell in a mass of curls nearly to her waist, a purple cashmere vest covering a lavender tank top with skin tight black slacks, hot pink , knit leggings and three-inch spiked heels. "Hoooo-llllly shit!"

Sophia's attempt to slam the door closed in the huge woman's face bounced it back open and hit the blonde's shoulder. She gave another attempt to slam the door as she started rushing backwards until she fell on top of Sara on the bed.

"Dammit, Soph!" Sara twisted around to chew the other woman out but stopped mid-sentence upon the sight of the figure that was pulling a knife from the purse at her side. "Oh, shit."

"Don't move! Any of you," came the falsetto voice as she stood with the light silhouetting her entire body.

"Greg, I'm not in the mood for your jokes right now," Catherine began as she turned to look at the person standing at the bottom of her bed.

"I don't think it's Greggo," Sara told her as she and Sophia sat, frozen on their bed, both now in their professional mode as they were on high alert but unable to do anything at the moment other than watch the events unfolding before them.

"Greggo," the woman smirked. "As if! I could so totally wipe the floor up with that piece of work! No. . . it isn't good ol' Greggo."

"Well," said Catherine as she slowly and cautiously turned over until she was sitting on her bed. "Do you want to fill us in on just "who" you might be?"

"Let's just say I'm someone who's tired of watching this town get infiltrated with trashy females who want to contaminate the men in it. All they have on their minds is filth! I see it going on all around me—and I won't let it go any farther!"

"Okay," Catherine said in a matter-of-fact tone. "So, we'll stop being filthy. Problem solved."

"You wish it would be so easy! You—with the bright red hair and the eyes that are always on that man with the chocolate skin. . .the beautiful green eyes. . .and those lips. . ." The woman actually shuddered dreamily then seemed to come back to her senses. "And you! You had your opportunity with someone clean. . .someone that could teach you how to be a proper woman, but you chose to tarnish him! You dirty slut! You deserve to die first!"

"First?" Sara asked as she looked at him. "I can understand if you're upset with Soph—we all feel that way sometimes, well, actually, a lot of the time, but that doesn't mean it has to go any farther than her, does it?"

This comment brought a sick look from Sophia as she turned to stare at Sara, who merely smiled quickly before looking back at the woman in charge. Her statement seemed to catch the woman off guard as well as she stared back at her.

"No, I don't suppose it does. . .I mean. . .it's not like you two actually seduced the deputy. . ." the woman's eyes came back to Sara with clarity. "Wait a minute! If one dies—all three die!"

"Well," Catherine pouted. "That hardly seems fair, does it?"

"Doesn't seem fair to me," Sara agreed. "I mean, Soph's the slut here, not us."

"Shut. . .up," Sophia growled through clenched teeth as she stared at Sara through wide eyes.

"Well it's true! God, you didn't even know Jake a whole day and you had him in your motel room. . .what did you say? Getting four strokes and a grunt?"

"It's Jeremy!" The woman gasped. "And it was more than four strokes!"

"You've got some nerve!" Sophia said, seeming to forget about the woman as she got to her feet and faced Sara. "Listen to you! How long were you here before you were. . ."

The sound of a sudden knock on their door turned the woman's attention away from the three women, giving them the time they needed to lunge. Screams filled the air as Catherine pulled the woman's hair, only to have a large wig come off in her hands; Sara grabbed for the woman but grabbed onto a pair of silicone breasts that were shoved around to her armpits. Sophia seemed to be the only one who actually got her mark as she grabbed the woman's arm that was holding the knife and chomped down on her exposed flesh.

The door swung open and Ecklie stood there with a six-pack of Pepsi in his hand. "Ladies, the guys picked up some soda. They thought you might like some. What the hell?"

The woman was unsuccessfully trying to yank Sophia's teeth from her arm as Catherine and Sara stared at the figure in shock. Ecklie, seeing his three female CSIs in danger reacted quickly by swinging the six-pack of soda with all his might until it came in contact with the assailants face. The person dropped like a sack of potatoes.

Sara wasted no time kicking the knife away from the unconscious body as Catherine turned on the lights and the four of them stared at the person on the floor.

"Deputy Higgins?" Catherine said with awe. "Damn! He made a fine-looking woman!"