Thanks to everyone reviewing. The guys are about to find Jo, but are they too late.

Disclaimer: Not mine.

Chapter 11

Mac and the teams were quickly making their way through the forest, to the location Adam had provided, and the place they hoped they would find Jo. Mac reached into his pocket and grabbed his cell phone as it began to ring.

"Taylor!" he said as he charged forward through the dead leaves and thick mud beneath his feet.

"Found her yet?" a familiar voice asked.

"Ged," Mac said, "we're on our way to her now. We know where she is." he said smirking, it was kind of true. The others all continued moving forward but they were all listening in to the call.

"I hope you're all running, Mac. Jo hasn't got much time left. I saw how close you guys were getting and I figured I'd move things ahead of schedule a little."

"What are you talking about?" Mac asked, panicked.

"I plugged the pipe almost two hours ago now. I'd say Jo's already feeling it, down in that little box. Although by now, perhaps she's feeling nothing at all."

"You son-uva-bitch!" Mac growled at him.

Ged just laughed, "You're spot on, Mac. My mother was a bitch!"

"Which one?" Mac spat at him as he took off in a run.

Again Ged laughed, but this time it was different, his laugh was stained with anger, "Both. My biological parents gave me up like I meant nothing!"

"Ok, I suppose I could pretend to understand your sick logic for killing them. What about you adoptive parents?" Mac said.

"They treated me like royalty at first because I was the only child they had. Neither could reproduce themselves." Ged told him coldly, "But, then by some fucked up miracle my "mother" became pregnant. They forgot all about me because they only cared about their real child!"

"That's why you killed them?"

"They disowned me, said I was bad to have around the growing family!"

"So you paid them back by letting your sister and her unborn child die!"

"Not at first, I went looking for my biological parents, found them, but they didn't want to know me. They slammed the fucking door in my face!"

"My God, you're pathetic! You couldn't take a little rejection so you go on a murder spree!"

"Something like that." Ged growled back angrily.

"Over here!" Mac heard Adam shout.

Ged heard it too. "Geez, Mac. I hope you weren't too late. We'll finish this conversation another time." he said before Mac hung upon him.

Mac raced through the trees, through the fading light, and over to where Danny, Lindsay, Adam and even Hawkes where digging through the dirt with shovels they had all been carrying. Mac wasted no time in dropping to his knees and trying to pull the plug out.

"Mac, we tried, it won't budge!" Adam told him as Flack ran over and began helping them dig.

Mac stood up and raked his fingers through his hair, "We need more man-power!" he bellowed to officers who were already making their way over to help.

He began digging as well, his heart thumping against his chest. Each time the blade of his shovel sliced into the damp earth a new memory of Jo flashed before his eyes, working all the way back to the first moment he had saw her...

He'd stepped out of the elevator and had turned to see her standing up on the balcony. "I'm Jo Danville, I'm your new CSI…" she had said. Instantly he'd been puzzled by it but not by her, by her he'd been totally mesmerized. At that point he began to smile again.

Tons more images flooded through his head, some just as simple as her standing there smiling at him… another was when she had told him to get married…then when she had told him she adored him. He also saw the kiss they had shared…and then to when they were stood on the balcony looking up at the stars and she had told him about when she was child, how she loved the stars – her guardians as she saw them.

It seemed to take forever but finally they heard a 'clunk' as Danny's shovel hit something. "I think I got her!" he shouted.

"JO!" Lindsay shouted, "Jo, we're here!"

"Jo, hold on!" Hawkes shouted.

Mac got to his knees and brushed the dirt away with his hands. He banged his fist against the wooden box. "Jo, bang on the wood if you can hear me!" he yelled.

Nothing.

"Get me something to open this damn box with!" Mac yelled to no one in particular.

Flack climbed back into the hole with two shovels, passing one to Mac. Then as he pried the box open at one end Mac pried the other end open. The moment he could see her Mac felt his heart skip a beat, she was still, too still. "Jo!" he cried as he scooped her up and lifted her up to Danny and Adam who pulled her out of the hole. They carefully set her down on the floor and crouched down beside her.

Mac knelt down beside her and panic flooded him. With a shaky hand he placed two fingers on her neck.

"Mac?" Adam asked.

Sid knelt down on the other side of Jo, opposite Mac. "She's not breathing!" Mac panicked.

"Begin CPR!" Sid said and began compressions.

The others could only watch as the two men tried desperately to get her breathing. Mac looked down at Jo, tears stinging his eyes. Her eyes were closed and she just looked like she was sleeping. God how he wished she was and that by saying her name enough it would wake her up. He leant back as Sid began compressions again. He reached down and gently held his palm against Jo's bruised and bloodied face.

"Open your eyes, Jo." he begged. He glanced up and saw all the stars twinkling brightly through the trees and immediately he flashed back to what she had said to him the night on the balcony at the lab. He looked back down at her and said, "Jo, open your eyes, look up at the stars. Remember what you said, when they're out no harm can come to you, that when they're out they'll protect you. Jo they're as clear as day. Just open your eyes and see them." he said, nothing, "Please Jo." he begged.

~0~0~0~0~

Ged walked through the busy train station with his hood pulled down over his face and a big rucksack hanging off his back. He did so without gaining any attention because he just looked like another tourist that wandered around the station. He made his way over to his train and stepped on board. Once on board he found a seat, reached into his bag and pulled out a newspaper. He unfolded it and held it up in front of his face. He had no intentions of reading it, just hiding behind it.

He couldn't wipe the smile off his face. Mac and his team were too busy wasting their time finding Jo and he was on his way out of New York City. His work here was done and he had gotten away with it…for now…

TBC

I was gonna reveal Jo's fate in this chapter but I decided to wait.

Thanks for reading. Please review.