Hey guys. How are we all? Well, here is the next chapter of my lovely fluffy GSR fic. Lol, sorry, just teasing. Nice day off today and my brain is in the mood for writing so I thought I'd get the next chapter up. I'm also working on the next Calling chapter, so fingers crossed that won't be too long before it's posted. Although, my brain is being isn't as co operative with that story as it is with this one. Evil hat doesn't seem to want to play over there any more :)

As always, thank you for all your reviews, please, please keep them coming. They inspire me to continue!

So let's see how bad we can make poor old Grissom feel then shall we?

Chapter 7

Colin scribbled the name of the medication down and looked at Grissom. "I need someone to get this," he said holding up the paper.

Clearing his throat the CSI nodded and held his hand out. "There is a pharmacy just down the street." Colin handed him the paper and Grissom turned to Greg. "I need you to go and get this, Greg, can you that?"

In an instant Greg nodded. "I can do that."

"Take two officers with you," Grissom continued, "and make sure they know this is an emergency, we don't have long."

"I got it," the younger man confirmed, taking the paper. "I'll be right back."

Grissom watched as Greg rushed from the command unit, almost running into Brass as he went. The captain walked in pointing over his shoulder. "Where's he going?" he asked.

"To pick up a demand," Grissom replied.

"Oh?" Brass folded his arms as he stood next to his friend. "What kind of a demand?"

"Medication."

Now Brass frowned. "For who?"

Grissom looked to Colin who joined the conversation. "We don't know," he replied. "But maybe for our quick co operation they will allow us to speak with Sara."

Brass looked back to Grissom. "They said that?"

The supervisor nodded. "But whether I believe them or not is a different matter," Grissom commented.

"What is the medication they asked for?"

"Clopidogrel," Colin began, "Its heart medication. If you're on it and don't get it then..."

"I get the picture," Brass interrupted. "We don't know if it's for the hostages or for them though?"

Grissom shook his head. "We have no choice but to give it to them, no matter who it's for."

"Has Greg gone to the pharmacy down the street?" the captain asked.

"Yeah," Grissom replied.

"Then he shouldn't be too long," Brass continued. "We need to organise the drop off."

"I'll do it," Grissom said quickly.

Brass's eyes narrowed. "No, you won't." The captain went to walk away but Grissom grabbed his arm.

"Why not?" he snapped.

Sighing the older man turned back to face his friend. "Do I really need to answer that, Gil? You know why."

The CSI nibbled heavily on his bottom lip. "I need to do something, Jim."

"You are," the lawman consoled. "You are here. And you are ready to comfort your wife when she comes out. Okay?"

Grissom sighed but offered an unsteady nod.

"Wait for Greg," Brass urged softly. "Let me know when he gets back."

"Okay..."

Offering his friend half a smile Brass headed for the door.

"Oh, Jim...?" Grissom said quickly and once again Brass stopped and turned around. "...did you find out anything about who Michael was talking about?"

"They are looking into it," Brass informed him. "Lots of people on leave, or days off...sickness, you know how it is. It could take a while."

Grissom nodded knowing full well how difficult it would be to find the whereabouts of every off duty cop.

"I..." The lawman pointed to the door, "...need to get the drop organized."

"Sure."

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Back in the store Sara watched on as the two brothers once again whispered amongst themselves. She had heard what Ryan had said in regards to allowing her to talk on the phone but she wasn't entirely sure whether she believed it or not. And, even if they did, what was she going to say?

She watched carefully as Ryan looked at his watch and then pulled a cell phone from his pocket before looking to his watch again. It was almost as if he was waiting for a call, but from who?

Sara checked her own watch. They were just half way over the twenty minute deadline Ryan had allowed to get the medication and it was an uncomfortable feeling knowing her colleagues were working against the clock. What would happen if they were late?

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As Grissom paced around the command unit he too checked his watch, seven minutes left. He was about to pull his cell from his pocket and call Greg to find out where he was when the young CSI came running back into the trailer, sucking in several well needed intakes of air.

He held out a bag. "I got it," he gasped.

Grissom's eyes brightened and he took the bag from Greg and looked to Colin. "Let them know we got it," he said quickly.

Nodding swiftly Colin picked up the phone and dialled.

Inside the store the phone rang and Ryan looked to his watch with a smirk on his face. He walked to the telephone as everyone looked on, Sara especially. "Yes?" he asked picking up the receiver.

"We have what you asked for," Colin informed him.

Ryan's smirk grew. "Good, now listen I'm going to make this nice and simple for you. One person and one person only, they bring the medication and drop it outside the main door. Tell them to keep their hands nice and high because if I get any inclination that you cowboys are going to try anything I'm going to start hurting people. Do you understand me?"

"I understand," the negotiator replied swiftly.

"Oh..." Ryan continued, "...and make sure the package is nice and tight against the crack of the door. We don't want to be reaching too far, got it?"

"Yes."

"Good, you've got five minutes. I'll be watching." Ryan hung up and turned to his brother.

"All good, bro?" the younger man asked.

Ryan nodded. "Perfect."

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Grissom dashed from the command unit with medication in hand and Greg nipping at his heels. He spotted Brass by a squad car fastening up a bullet proof vest and he rushed over to him.

"Are you making the drop?" Grissom asked a little breathless.

After securing the last piece of Velcro at the side of his armour, Brass turned his attention to the CSI and nodded. "I'd feel better if I did," the captain replied.

"Me too," Grissom responded, holding out the bag. "They said keep your hands up and make sure the drop is nice and tight against the door." The supervisors words came fast and he seemed a little winded, anxiety now surging through every pore of his body. This had to go well or they could hurt Sara.

Taking the bag Brass nodded again. "I know, Gil. I know the drill." He placed a comforting hand onto Grissom arm. "Relax, it will all go smoothly. Trust me, alright?"

As he let out a heavy breath, the supervisor's shoulders slumped. "Okay," he whispered.

"Good." Brass half smiled as he reached to his hip and pulled out his weapon. He stepped away and towards several SWAT officers. He handed them his gun and the group chatted quietly as one of the officers attached a radio receiver to the inside of the captain's vest before handing him an ear piece. Brass slipped it into his ear and nodded to confirm the equipment was working.

"Well..." the captain clasped the bag tightly in his hand as he looked back at Grissom, "...let's get this show on the road."

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From the sidelines, Grissom gnawed heavily on his thumb nail as he watched an officer lift the crime scene tape and Brass duck underneath it.

SWAT watched on, their weapons covering Brass as well as being aimed at the store, ready and waiting for any instruction that may be given.

Ryan glared at the monitors and spotted Brass as he approached. "They're coming," he said to his brother but didn't take his eyes from the screen.

"Okay..." Ryan looked at his brother...go get the bag."

Jay nodded and approached the door. He squared up against it and waited.

Brass continued slowly but alertly, stopping when he was just a few feet away from the door. He tried to get a look inside, hopeful there may be a crack in one of the blinds but sadly, there was none. A sigh seeped through his lips as he made the final few steps to the door and he placed the bag down.

Ryan smiled as he watched Brass make the drop, turn and walk away. "Now..." he directed his brother. "Carefully..."

"Got it," Jay said with a smirk and unbolted the door. He opened it, only slightly and then bent down, sticking his hand out of the gap. Instantly his fingers coiled around the paper bag and he pulled it inside. Swiftly, he re bolted the door and turned to face his brother, holding up the bag. "Next time...can we ask for pizza?"

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Brass slowly walked back towards the line of law enforcement waiting behind the tape. He ducked under the barrier and pulled out his ear piece. "See...nice and smooth," he said with a smile as Grissom caught his eye line.

The supervisor blew out a breath of hot air. "You think everything else is going to be that simple?" he asked negatively.

"Hey..." Brass held his hands up, "...stop riling me, Gil, alright? I'm doing everything I can right now."

"Sure..." Grissom muttered, kicking a stone across the ground.

Brass heard his comment and wasn't very impressed by it. "Look..." he said firmly pointing a finger, "...don't start the morals with me, Gil. If it wasn't for you, Sara wouldn't even be in the mess now would she?"

The CSI supervisor suddenly felt his chest tighten at the captain's words and a fury, white and hot suddenly burned through his veins but as he was about to snap back he suddenly stopped. Brass was right and as Grissom's mouth tried to form a response no actual words came out. "I..." Grissom stuttered.

Pulling the microphone from his vest, Brass sighed. "I didn't mean that," he started. "It's not your fault that..."

"Yes it is," Grissom cut him short, tears burning his eyes. "If I hadn't..."

He didn't get chance to finish as an officer interrupted the conversation. "Captain, you have a call," the young man informed Brass, holding up a cell phone.

The captain took the phone. "I'll be right back," he said, stepping away.

Grissom looked to the sky and deeply inhaled the cool Vegas air. As he was about to get lost in his own blame his cell rang and he pulled it from his pocket. Checking the caller ID he saw it was Catherine and flipped open the phone.

"Hey, Gil," she said softly. "Any developments?" she then asked.

"Hi, Catherine..." he sighed, gathering some composure, "...no, nothing much. There may be a chance they will allow us to talk with Sara but nothing definite..."

There was silence for a moment. "They know who Sara is?" she finally asked, her voice very worried.

"Yeah...well...they know what she is..."

Silence came again. "Gil...I...um..."

Grissom shook his head. "What they know, they know, we can't change that now." He tried to change the subject. "Did Mike settle okay?"

"Doesn't he always?"

A small smile passed over Grissom's lips as he looked to the ground. "Yeah."

"Look," she continued not wanting to dwindle on the negative, "I'm at the lab and we have matches to the prints from the jewellery store."

Grissom's eyes suddenly sparkled and his head shot up straight. "You got ID's?"

"Yes," she replied, "Ryan and Jason Murphy, brothers, born and bred here in Vegas. Both have previous and have both served time for a mixture of things including assault and armed robbery. I'm still digging for more info on offences but it seems our duo like to gamble and right now they are seriously deep in the hole with certain people you really don't want to owe money to. Sadly it seems they are not the two brightest sparks and because of their hasty exit, forgot about their prints. However, I don't think they expected the alarm to be raised so I guess their plans changed."

Running his hand through his hair Grissom paced back and forth, "How much do they owe?"

"Over a quarter of a million dollars, not including interest, so it's still climbing."

"Well..." Grissom continued to pace, "...they have certainly taken enough to cover their debt."

"With a pretty hefty added bonus," Catherine added. "What they have is enough for them to disappear for good but, it's not usual to pay off your loan shark in diamonds. Too much hassle for the recipient, so they must have a buyer somewhere, waiting."

Grissom's eyes narrowed as he thought. "A buyer wouldn't wait forever so they must have an exchange planned."

"Right," Catherine agreed. "We are doing all we can to try and get some info on who that might be, just in case..."

The last thing Grissom wanted to contemplate at that point was them getting away to make that so called exchange. If they did, it would more than likely mean they had a hostage with them. However, the LVPD were not usually ones to give in to demands but, yet again, this wasn't any ordinary hostage situation anymore was it?

"Just..." he sighed heavily again, "...keep me informed."

"You got it." Catherine hung up as did Grissom and he slipped his phone back into his pocket.

"Gil?"

Grissom heard Brass's voice and turned. The captain was rubbing his forehead and had lost some of the colour he'd had in his cheeks earlier.

"What's happened?" Grissom asked on a swallow.

"We think we got an ID for the victim in the store."

The CSI supervisor knew by the look on Brass's face that this wasn't going to be good. "Who?"

Pinching the bridge of his nose, the captain cleared his throat. "Mitchell Croft."

Grissom frowned, he knew that name. It came to him then. "The Under Sheriffs brother in law?"

Brass nodded. "McKeen is on his way down here now."

"Are you sure?"

"Not one hundred percent but his wife saw the news and called in. Said he normally stops off this way at the end of shift and hadn't got home yet so she was concerned."

Rubbing the back of his neck Grissom tried to alleviate some of the growing tension pulsing through his muscles. "Does she know?"

"No," Brass replied. "We said we'd look into it but obviously her brother isn't that keen to be kept in the dark."

"Were not certain it's him though."

"No were not," Brass agreed. "But it's not going to help having the Under Sheriff involved. He isn't exactly the most agreeable person."

Grissom bit down on his lip. "No kidding," he mumbled.

"Anyway..." Brass changed the subject, "...while we're waiting for him, why don't we..." He pointed to the command unit, "...see if we can get some response from the store now they have what they want..."

Nodding his agreement, Grissom set off towards the unit but stopped when Brass grabbed his arm. "I didn't mean...what I said earlier..."

Working his jaw from side to side, Grissom felt his shoulders slump. "Forget about it," he replied and continued walking. "You were right..." he finished on whisper...

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Back inside the store Sara sighed with relief as she watched Jay hand over the medication to Susan's boyfriend. He was quick to open the bag and pull out the canister of pills.

"Could I have some water?" he asked with haste. "We're all so thirsty; I doubt she can swallow without a drink.

Jay looked to his brother and Ryan nodded. "Bring a few," he suggested. "I'm sure we could all do with a little refreshment and we wouldn't want anyone dying of dehydration now would we?"

The youngest brother was quick to walk to the fridges and back. He carried six bottles of water with him and gave one immediately to Joe before moving around the hostages and handing them all a bottle. His last stop was Sara and he held a bottle out to her. There was a small part of her that didn't want to take it but, it was getting very hot in the store and given her condition, she needed to keep her liquids up.

Tentatively she took the bottle. "Thank you," she whispered.

Jay smirked and rejoined his brother, offering him the last bottle. "Glad to see your counting has improved, Jay," he sniggered popping off the top. "Are we sharing?"

The younger brother's smile faded realising he hadn't brought enough and was even more annoyed at his brother's teasing. "Bite me," he grumbled, heading back into the store.

Ryan laughed into his water as he watched his brother drag his heels down the aisle. His glance then shifted to Susan as she popped a pill in her mouth and her boyfriend quickly aided her to drink.

"Good," he sighed contently. "We're all friends again..." His eyes shot to Sara, "...aren't we?"

Sara lightly sipped from the bottle as he stared at her. There was something very menacing about this man and the way his personality could change so quickly gave her the creeps. She felt better though knowing that Susan had her meds. At that point, that was most important.

The phone rang again and Sara jumped a little. Ryan still stared. "I think that might be for you," he said, the grin on his face growing.

A/N: So, what do you think? See that little review box below, fill it in PLEASE :) I'll give you a cookie... Are they going to let Sara talk? Will it even do any good? Oh the tension *covers eyes*. I can't watch! Lol. xxx