A/N: Hi there! I don't think this one was as long a wait was the last, but just remember that I have not forgotten:D We have been getting a lot of rainy weather here lately and that can put a dampener on everything. As always, I want to thank JellyBeanChiChi for a great beta job, and a few helpful hints:D

And to all of you who didn't believe that W.I.T.C.A. could make it, we're already growing! Last week we just developed our London branch, and with a little luck we'll have our mates in Australia admitting they're in the closet too:D By the way, I want to congratulate Kalsan on bringing her awesome story 'Lex Talionis' to a beautiful close. 50 chapters, baby! Way to go! Not sure I dare ask what's next;)

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Chapter Thirty-Three

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The next morning Gil woke up early and shut off the alarm before it could wake Sara. He shushed Hank when the pooch got a little excited and the two quietly left the room, shutting the door behind them. When they reached the downstairs, he let Hank out into the back yard and went to the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. He opened the cupboard and got out his morning pills.

Gil sighed as he looked down at the bottle of pain medication and reluctantly turned his attention to the patio when he heard Hank whine and scratch at the door. He limped over to the sliding glass door and opened it for the boxer who ran inside and over to his food dish. Gil looked back at the pill bottles longingly before turning away in disgust.

He fed Hank before starting his own breakfast. Gil stood at the stove when Sara quietly walked up behind him and wrapped her arms around his waist. He gasped in surprise as he had been deep in his own thoughts and had not heard her.

"Sorry," she chuckled as she rested the side of her face against his back. "I didn't mean to startle you."

"That's okay," he sighed as he took one of her hands and turned in her arms to face her. "Just didn't hear you."

They kissed good morning and Sara cupped his face when she saw his troubled eyes. "Are you okay?"

"Yes," Gil smiled, hoping to reassure her. "I just… have a lot on my mind."

"Want to talk?"

"Not really," he held his soft smile.

"Okay," Sara forced a smile and kissed him again. She had not wanted to let it drop so easily but did for his sake. "What smells so good?"

"French toast," Gil grinned. "My mother's own recipe."

"Mmmm… a special treat, huh?"

"Hmmm…" He kissed her again. "Speaking of special treats… you still have a birthday gift to give me."

Sara grinned devilishly. "Don't think that I've forgotten." She reached down and pinched his ass, causing him to jump and raise his eyebrows in surprise. "I think your French toast is burning."

"Oh!" Gil turned around quickly, almost knocking Sara backwards.

They didn't talk much as they ate breakfast. Gil had very little appetite as his thoughts quickly went to the trial. He knew he was going to have to see and hear a lot of things that would bring up horrible memories all over again, but he was not going to let O'Tool spout his lies without seeing that he had not beaten Gil. After a quick shower for them both they drove to the courthouse.

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When they arrived at the courthouse, and Sara parked the car, they were surprised to see the team waiting for them in the parking garage, along with Stacey and Conrad.

"What are you guys going here?" Gil asked, surprised at their presence.

"Well," Jim stepped forward, "We know how stubborn you are and we knew you would be back again today."

"We didn't want you going through it alone, man." Warrick continued.

Gil looked at Sara and she smiled as she took his hand. "Thanks, guys," Gil replied. "It means a lot."

The bug man didn't miss the smug look on Greg's face as they walked towards the elevator and quirked a curious eyebrow at the younger man. Greg only smiled as they stepped onto the car. This time when they stepped off the elevator there were already police officers in the corridor and no reporters. Gil looked at Jim who smiled.

"I called in the cavalry early."

"Thank you." Gil returned the smile. The thoughtfulness of his friends continued to touch him.

The courtroom held the same people as it had the day before and Gil, Sara and Jim walked to the front as the others took their seats at the back. As the three companions sat down behind the DA he turned and smiled.

"Good morning," he said to all of them. "Dr. Grissom, there's been a positive development in the case. I think we'll be pleased with the outcome today, sir."

Gil cringed inside at the word but forced a smile. When the younger man turned back around he took Sara's hand and squeezed it hard as he shut his eyes. The court proceedings began and they sat and listened as the judge went through the opening and then asked the defense if they had any witnesses. Vladimir immediately called Michael O'Tool to the stand and asked him to share his testimony with the court.

O'Tool told all. He told of how he had been tricked by Reggie Shelling and forced to become a sex slave. Then he told of his arrest and how he had been sold by Shelling to Rubin Denalgio while in prison. He looked at the jury as the innocence showed on his young face and he told them of how badly Denalgio had used him in prison and how much he had controlled Michael after they had been released.

Then Michael testified that one night, while Shelling and Denalgio were gone on business, he had decided to go to a bar on the strip. That's where he had met Gil. "He was a nice guy, he bought me a drink and asked me to join him at his table in the back corner." Michael looked at the jury then back at Vladimir. "We sat and talked for a while and then he moved over and sat beside me… and started… caressing my face and touching my hair. I told him that Rubin was my boyfriend and he said that after what he had done to me in prison that Rubin didn't deserve me. He was the first person to ever tell me that I was too good for anyone."

"And what did Mr. Grissom do after that?" Vladimir asked as he crossed his arms and looked at Gil smugly before turning back to his witness.

"He paid for our drinks and asked me to follow him in my car. We went to a cheap motel off the strip and he rented a room for us. In all my life I have never been treated so well by anyone. After he made love to me he took care of me. We met when we could and he always treated me well. After a while he said that he wanted to make the porno with me. He said that he had never made one before and wanted to try it, and that the idea of BDSM had always intrigued him. You know the rest of the story after that."

Vladimir thanked Michael and turned him over to the DA. The young man stepped forward and addressed Michael. "You have quite a history, Mr. O'Tool. So, Mr. Grissom treated you well? You said you've never been treated so well by anyone?"

"Right. That's right," O'Tool said.

"So, when you met Mr. Grissom, did you think, 'Wow. This is like the best day of my life.'"

"Yeah. Sure," O'Tool said with a smile.

"I can imagine," the DA said, as he approached the stand a little more. "I mean, the way Shelling and Denalgio treated you so poorly... Do you remember that first day that you met Shelling?"

"Yeah, sure. It was..." O'Tool thought for just a second, "Almost 6 years ago, Jan. 4. 2000 a few weeks after I had run away from home."

"And do you remember the day you met Denalgio?"

O'Tool gave a scoffing laugh. "Of course. It was the first day I was in prison. Three months later, April. 13. 2000."

"And Denalgio and Shelling seemed to have a tight grip on your life, like every second of every day. They used you and they never let go of that grip they had on you."

O'Tool seemed comfortable sense he thought the DA bought his story. "Yeah. Yeah, they did. They told me when to eat, when I had to ... you know... service them... when I could sleep. I had to ask if I could take a piss."

"Wow," the DA said. "They had this hold on your life, yet they left you alone long enough for you to go out, meet someone, talk to him, go to a motel make love and continually meet with him behind their backs."

O'Tool looked nervously at his attorney and took a pause before he answered. "Well... that was... I mean they just thought I wouldn't leave. ..."

The DA cut-off O'Tool's stammering with another question. "And what day was that?"

"What?" O'Tool was still wrestling with the previous question.

"What day did you first meet Mr. Grissom?"

"Umm... it was like a year..." O'Tool looked at his lawyer who gave a stern look back at him. O'Tool swallowed and his eyes moved nervously back and forth. "I mean... I guess it was a few months ago."

"You don't remember the date?"

"Well, no."

"So you meet a man who you testified treated you better than any other person in your life. And you just said it was the best day of your life, but you can't remember the date? You don't even remember exactly how long ago it was?"

"Ummm..."

"What was the name of the bar where you met Mr. Grissom?"

"Like I said, it was some bar off the strip."

"So you don't remember that either," the DA said. "OK, you meet Mr. Grissom and you want a drink, so he flashes his credit card and buys you a drink. Then he invites you to a motel to make love... what was the name of that motel again?"

"Ummm... it was just a cheap motel..."

"Off the strip?" the DA interrupted. "You don't remember that place either? The place where you said Mr. Grissom treated you so well?"

"No! OK, I don't remember the name!" O'Tool said. His emotions and nerves were raw and on the surface.

"All right, Mr. O'Tool," the DA soothed, taking a step back. "Like we were saying, you asked for a drink Mr. Grissom flashed his credit card and bought you a drink. He invited you to a motel and he flashed his credit card and paid for that too. Is that how it went?"

"Yes," O'Tool said with slightly more confidence. "He paid for everything."

"On his credit card?"

"Umm.. yeah."

"So when we look at Mr. Grissom's credit card statements we should be able to ascertain drinks from an off-strip bar charged, along with a motel stay. And it will give the exact date and time of the charges. That won't be difficult at all."

Vladimir moved uncomfortably in his seat. He looked at O'Tool who caught the gaze. "Wait!" O'Tool said. "I forgot. He paid cash. He paid for everything with cash."

The DA stopped but was completely nonplussed by the outburst and moved on to the next question. "Mr. O'Tool, you claimed that Dr. Grissom had a prepaid cellular phone that he used to keep in contact with you."

"Yes, he did."

"And this is the number?" The DA held out the paper for Michael to see.

"Yes, it is."

The DA pulled the paper away, went to the jury box and presented the paper with the phone number to members of the jury. "Could you state for the court what the number is?"

O'Tool rattled off the number with no problem.

"You have that number committed to memory, don't you Mr. O'Tool?" the DA asked.

"Yeah, I do," O'Tool said softly.

"Tell you what. Let's call it, shall we?" The DA pulled out his cell phone and dialed the number, and Michael fidgeted nervously in his seat. Within seconds a phone began to ring in the courtroom and the DA stepped back over to his table and picked up an evidence bag that contained a small, silver cell phone. "Does this look familiar, Mr. O'Tool?"

Michael looked at the phone and remembered the day that Rubin had given him a similar one and told him to keep it on him at all times and to answer it immediately when he called. "Yes."

"This phone was pulled off Rubin Denalgio's dead body, and it had only one set of finger prints on it… Rubin Denalgio's. Not only on the phone itself, but on the key pad and on the SIM card inside the phone. There are no other prints, including Mr. Grissom's prints, on the phone," the DA said approaching O'Tool once more. "Can you explain that to the court, Mr. O'Tool? If this was the phone Mr. Grissom used to call you, why aren't his prints all over it?"

"I don't know.." Michael swallowed nervously as he was losing the cool that he thought he had.

"Isn't it because this is the phone Denalgio used to keep track of you," the DA stood firm. "Dr. Grissom never met you in a bar somewhere, and he never had an affair with you, and he never had a prepaid cellular phone that he used to stay in contact with you. Did he, Mr. O'Tool?!"

"No!" Michael lost it as his own guilt screamed out in his heart and head, and the image of Gil Grissom begging him for mercy that had haunted him all night returned. He hurriedly spoke to confess his lie. "Nothing about my relationship with Mr. Grissom is true. I never met the guy before, but my lawyer said that he could get me out of this and that he would fix everything."

A murmur rippled through the crowd and Michael took a breath to steady himself. "When I told him that I had doubts about it he told me to just keep my mouth shut, 'cause he had taken everything and all I had to do is say everything that he had told me to say."

Carl Vladimir paled as the two bailiffs stepped towards him. "Why did Mr. Vladimir want you to lie, Mr. O'Tool?" The DA's tone softened a little as Michael's eyes filled with tears.

"He said that it was about time that Mr. Grissom felt what it was like to be publicly humiliated like he had done to Vladimir so many times. But I… I can't lie about it anymore. We weren't making a porno, I did those things to him and he did nothing to deserve any of them. I-I j-just want it to be over!" Michael was consumed with his tears as he covered his face with his hands and his body shook hard with each sob.

The mood was somber as everyone made their way out of the courtroom. With the accusations against counsel, the trial would be most likely be a mistrial, which would mean if the DA's office was not able to broker a deal with O'Tool, Grissom might have to go through another trial.

Once outside, the team could see the young DA being surrounded by members of the press. His voice boomed so all the reporters could hear. "Although our office has much to consider with the accusations against Mr. Vladimir, I am grateful that the proceedings put to rest the horrible lies put forth about Dr. Gilbert Grissom. He is one of our city's finest public servants who is a victim of a horrible crime. When he was kidnapped he put his life on the line to save a member of his team, and for that and for the courage he has shown throughout this trial, he should be lauded as nothing less than a hero."

The press clambered to get a comment about what O'Tool said and the conduct of the the lawyer and judge, so the team used those distractions to get Grissom and Sara away from the courthouse without fanfare.

Once at their cars, Nick approached Greg and put his arm around him. "Way to go on that phone lead, Greggo."

Greg gave a sheepish thank you and caught the sincere expression on Grissom's face.

"You did that, Greg?" Grissom asked.

Greg shrugged. "I just followed the evidence."

Grissom patted him on the back. "Thank you."

"So Grissom," Warrick said. "You heading back home or you need anything?"

"Actually I'm hungry," he said.

"Well, let's get you some grub," Nick said. "If you don't mind some company?"

"Not at all," Grissom replied.