A/N: Hey guys, thanks for all your reviews and support. Here is the next chapter. Thanks so much to my bestest bud SweetSouthernComfort for the great beta but most off all, amazing friendship. 3 weeks babe and I'm on a plane and we be partying it down in the mountains and plotting some serious fan fiction (maybe). Lol. Yes, we are getting together! Whoooo! Oh can you imagine the carnage?

Well, I guess we had better get on with the story. So let's see who has come to visit shall we? :D Please review, I need the motivation!

Chapter 91

"Looks like you have company," Bob commented, looking to the arriving vehicle.

Grissom's eyes narrowed as the coach came to a halt not too far away and he immediately recognized the worker driving the vehicle. It was one of Captain Sidle's employee's with Rana seated by his side.

Before he even had time to think though, the coach door opened and the captain immediately emerged, swiftly followed by Laura and Grissom found his jaw working in nervous and uncertain circles.

"I'll leave you to it." Bob shook Grissom's hand before stepping away.

"Let me know how much I owe you," Grissom shouted after him.

Bob laughed. "You owe me nothing," he called back waving his hand. "You've done enough for me in the past."

Grissom noticed as the captain inquisitively watched Bob walk away. When the ranch owner looked to him, he couldn't help it as a little anger began to brew inside him.

His view was blocked though as Laura hurriedly dashed towards him, a look upon her face like one he had never seen. She looked truly desperate, as he had imagined that she might.

The captain followed slowly behind her and looked somewhat withdrawn.

"Gil…." she gasped. Her arm extended outward, clamping down upon his. "Sara…she's missing. She left and I don't know where she is." Her eyes teared, her voice caught several times in her throat. "She is nowhere in town and I thought that maybe….just maybe….she's here. Please tell me you've seen her. We've checked everywhere on the way down and nobody has seen her. Please tell me you know where she is."

His eyes floated between the couple, narrowing once again but he didn't want to make Laura any more miserable than she already seemed. "She's here," he admitted.

Laura held her hand over her heart and breathed a heavy sigh of relief. "Oh thank God."

"Indeed," Grissom deadpanned. "How she ever made it here through the storm is a miracle in itself."

Rounding his wife, the captain looked his former employee dead in the eye. There was definitely no love lost between the two men and Grissom gave as well as he received not allowing the captain to intimidate him.

"You have thanks for taking her in, Gil…" The Captain cleared his throat, his words sounding a little nervous, "…but we'll be taking her home now."

Snorting through his nose and fighting the burn in his stomach to laugh, Grissom folded his arms across his chest. Laura took a step back as Grissom's eyes notably darkened. "How dare you?" the rancher growled angrily, trying to keep calm. "She isn't going anywhere."

The captain was brave enough to take a step forward although he looked a little uncertain. "I dare because she is my daughter and I have the right!"

"You have no right!" Grissom snapped without giving the captain the chance to finish.

Fighting to retain some civility and control his temper, his eyes bore into the Captain's. "You are no longer at the Grove…Sir! This is my land…my house…my decision. You have no say here and if you think…for one…single…second…that I'm letting Sara go now…then you have another thing coming. And just out of respect for Sara because she loves you, no matter what you said to her, I'll attempt to be civil. However, it is my property that you are standing on and I will not hesitate to forcibly have you removed from it unless you can find some respect." His fingers clenched into tights balls, tightening around the sack which he still grasped in his hand.

"She is my daughter!" the captain shouted again. "And how much more do you want to shame her by having her here with you?" He paused for a moment and looked to the cabin. "Is she staying in there…with you?" His nostrils flared. "How dare you?"

Laura watched on as the two men squared off but she wouldn't let it go much further.

Now Grissom did laugh, of course she was staying with him; she was incapable of anything else. "Your daughter? Your…daughter…you have no idea…" He looked to the sky before his ice cold eyes shot back to his former friend. "Did you not tell her she was no longer your daughter? And…oh yeah…you called her a…whore." Grissom's nostrils flared with anger. "Did you not want a whore for a daughter, Captain? I thought you'd washed your hands of her."

"I…" the captain stuttered, "…I didn't mean that I…" He shook his head and attempting to save some grace, he fought back. "Oh I see…she just comes running to you…blabs to you about me because…"

"No!" Grissom lunged and grabbed the captain by his jacket. Spinning the older man around, he pinned him against the porch steps. "Don't you dare blame her for this!"

The captain was stunned and attempted to fight back but with the pure venom running through Grissom's blood, he didn't have a chance and the rancher pinned him hard and fast. "Don't you dare!" he repeated, slamming him back against the wood.

"Gil…" the captain gasped, struggling in his hold but it only made the rancher push harder.

"Do you even know what she's been through?" Grissom spat. "Do you? And you seriously expect me to send her back with you? You asked me to leave your home and I did...leaving Sara in your care...not knowing that she was going to go out into the storm. Had it not been for Dante...I would have found her dead yesterday morning. Either that or…or…" Grissom's upper lip curled with hatred, but he didn't have chance to finish.

"Stop it!" Laura screamed. She grabbed Grissom arms and tried to pull him off her husband. "Let him go, Gil, please!" she begged.

The rancher shook as he looked over his shoulder and his eyes glazed with tears as he looked at Laura. Regaining some control he released the captain and stepped back, swiping a shaking hand over his chin. "…she would have killed herself…" he mumbled, finishing what he had just started.

His words hung in the air like a dank fog, heavy and permeating. They were not new to Grissom, but speaking them into existence had given them a life…made them more real than just a swirling notion in his mind. Grissom watched as their effect settled on the faces of Sara's parents.

The captain was speechless, dumbstruck and had no immediate response for what Grissom had just said or done.

Laura's face paled as she looked at the man who she knew loved her daughter. "What?" she sobbed.

Grissom closed his eyes and sucked in some well needed air but then he felt her approach him and his attention was brought back to Laura. "What did you just say?"

"Sara came here to do nothing but leave Pandora for Dante. She didn't even attempt to see me. She left a note. She thought…" His eyes darted to the captain and he gritted his teeth, "…she thought I had left her…for good…she had nothing left…She thought that she was a disappointment to everyone….a disgrace to your family." He looked back to Laura. "If she hadn't fallen…collapsed in the mud…or if Dante hadn't found her…then…" He couldn't finish and quickly turned away; kicking a stone on the ground with so much force it flew through the air and disappeared from view.

"But that doesn't mean that she was planning to….to…" Laura couldn't finish the sentence, "Unless she said so in the note."

Grissom frowned. "Not directly, no. But the meaning is clearly implied and she's muttered a few things…."

Laura looked to her husband. "But…she wouldn't do that…she knows it's a sin to…"

"She would if it would cease the shame she was causing the ones she loved," Grissom cut in, facing the couple. He looked back to the captain. "The shame you so obviously think she deserves."

The captain still seemed lost for words so Laura took the lead. She took a hold of Grissom shirt and tugged, looking him in the eye. "Some grave…grave mistakes have been made, Gil, by all parties. No one is free from blame here." She looked at her husband and sucked in an unnerving breath, her eyes filling with tears. "I just want my daughter…I need…to see her…take her home…" She returned her attention to Grissom, "…and to try and make things right. She is my child, Gil, and…I love her…Please…tell me where she is…"

Grissom felt his stomach knot. No matter how angry he was, he knew Laura did indeed love her daughter and it pained him to see her upset. "She can't go home," he sighed.

"Gil, please…" Laura sobbed.

Taking her hand in his, Grissom squeezed it tightly. "You don't understand. Even if I was willing to let her go, which I'm not…she can't…she's sick, Laura."

"Sick?" Laura shook her head, her mouth trying to form words that just didn't come out.

The captain stepped up even if a little weary of the rancher. "That man that just left was he…"

"The town doctor," Grissom cut in.

"Exactly how sick is she?" Laura asked with urgency. "What's wrong with her?"

The rancher swallowed the heavy lump in his throat. "She has double pneumonia and is lucky to be alive."

Laura's mouth popped open, her eyes drifting downwards. "Oh dear, God," she mumbled. Her eyes sprang back to his. "I want to see her, Gil. I want to see her now…please…"

Grissom sighed and conceded with a nod, looking towards the cabin. "Follow me," he instructed. "But please, be quiet, I don't want her startled or upsetting and right now, I don't know how she will react if she wakes and sees…" He glared at the captain, "…you." He could see his comment hurt Laura even though it was directed at the captain. Nonetheless, Grissom didn't want to take any chances with Sara right now and upsetting her was simply not an option.

Then Grissom turned fully to face Sara's father. "You stay out here. Sara spends some of her time delirious with fever. She doesn't react well if she doesn't recognize you."

The Captain's eyes darkened. "I'm her father."

"I don't care."

Laura flapped her hands. "Stay out here, Thomas. I'll go and report to you." She silently followed Grissom up the stairs and into the cabin.

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The rancher's heart instantly pounded when he entered his dwelling to hear Sara having another coughing fit. She'd tipped over and was lying on her side, coughing so hard her face was almost crimson. With a fear striking his very core, Grissom dropped the small sack onto the mantle, ran to the bed and pulled her into his arms.

She was gasping in between coughs, struggling to get any form of air into her lungs.

"Sara…Sara try and breathe, Honey, breathe…" Grissom urged as he cradled her almost limp body.

Laura watched in stunned silence for a moment as her daughter's body wracked back and forth in pain. Finally Laura stepped forward. "Gil, let me help," she pleaded.

Grissom only vaguely heard her as Sara's head tipped back and her eyes rolled into the back of her head. She was sweating profusely and her skin felt like fire.

"Sara you have to breathe," Grissom begged as she continued to cough. "Breathe for me…just like you did before…come on…I know you can…"

On a shuddering cry, Sara seemed to hear his words and finally managed to inhale, breaking her coughs for just a second before they started again. Grissom's head turned to Sara's mother. "In the kitchen is a bowl of water and a cloth…"

Laura didn't hesitate and disappeared into the kitchen, easily finding the items. She grabbed the bowl and cloth and rushed back towards Grissom.

"Here…" She held the bowl out.

"Just one second," Grissom replied, shifting and taking Sara with him so he now lay against the headboard and she was in between his legs, her back against his chest. Her head flopped back and hit his right shoulder as he wrapped his left arm around her.

Sara's eyes opened for the briefest of moments and she looked right at her mother but she was too delirious to even notice she was there and within a few seconds, her eyes closed again.

Grissom held out his hand and took the bowl, placing it on the bed beside them. Slipping his fingers into the bowl, he noted the water was icy cold and he was glad. Lightly ringing out the cloth with one hand he then placed it upon Sara's burning forehead and tenderly began wiping it over her perspiring skin.

Laura held her hand over her mouth as she watched and the sob that escaped her throat couldn't escape Grissom ears. Sara was mortally sick and Laura had seen people die from such illnesses. The rancher looked to her. "There isn't much you can do right now, she just needs rest," he said. "Why don't you…" He refreshed the cloth and continued to sooth Sara's skin, "…go into town, find lodgings and get some sleep. I'm presuming you traveled through the night…"

"I can't sleep," Laura admitted, running a hand over the back of her neck. "Not with my daughter like this and I'm not leaving her. I need to do something, I need to help. In anyway, Gil, I need to help."

Grissom thought as Sara began coughing again. He held her tightly and dropped the cloth into the bowl. "Sara could use some fresh clothing," he said. "She didn't bring anything and all she has is…well…" His eyes passed over his clothing that she wore, "…what I have." He tried to make Laura feel as useful as he could for he wasn't about to leave Sara's side for a single second, at least not yet.

After thinking for a moment, Laura nodded. "I'll be back in a moment." She rushed back outside and descended the cabin steps. The captain stood, staring out over the estate but he heard her and was quick to approach her. "I want you to take Rana into town and get some things that Sara needs. She has nothing at all but Rana will know what to get."

The captain didn't respond.

"Thomas, can you hear me?" she asked noticing he didn't seem to be focused on anything.

"Um…" He scratched the back of his head, "…I think we need to get Sara home. Care for her there?"

Laura smiled and reached a hand to his cheek. "Do you really think Gil is going to allow that? He is a man not to be argued with right now, not even by you." She ran her thumb over his beard. "No matter how much you don't like it right now…he has control and you are going to have to accept it. Plus…you didn't just see what I do." She held her hand over her heart. "A man, caring for a woman, in the way that he is, especially when he knows what she has been through? Had…done to her? He is her lifeline, Thomas…"

The ranch owners chin trembled but he remained silent.

"He loves her, Thomas, can't you see that? And, we need to think of the future not the past. It's going to be hard enough for her without you trying to take away the only thing that seems to keep her holding on. Because…" She held her hand over her mouth now, attempting to cover up the sob which escaped, "…she is barely holding on…and…if I lose her…I…"

Pulling his wife into his arms, the captain held her tightly. "We won't lose her," he whispered into her hair. "I promise…I will do anything I have to do to make sure that doesn't happen."

Laura pulled back and looked into his eyes, "Anything?"

He nodded.

"Does that include making amends with Gil?"

Biting down on his bottom lip, the captain looked to the ground.

"Thomas?" Laura questioned and he looked back at her.

"I don't know…" he sighed.

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Grissom stroked Sara's hair as she now lay asleep on top of him, her head nestled snuggly in the crook of his neck. Her coughing again had become too much and once more she had passed out because of it.

When the cabin door opened his attention was brought to it and to Laura as she reentered his dwelling. Carefully, he shuffled out from underneath Sara; made sure she looked comfortable and covered her with the bed sheet and blanket.

He turned to the lady of the Grove.

"Thomas has gone into town to get things for Sara," she told him.

The rancher folded his arms across his chest and sighed. "And you?" he asked.

"I'm not going anywhere, Gil, please don't try and make me," she replied. "I need to be close to my daughter while she is in this condition. I have to help."

Grissom now closed his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. He jumped when he felt Laura touch his arm and his eyes popped open.

"When was the last time you slept?" she asked.

"A little last night, I managed a few hours."

Laura looked him over. "You look exhausted. Why don't you tell me what needs doing and you can maybe try and get some more sleep?"

"I'm fine," he argued.

The lady sighed, looked around the cabin and then turned, walking slowly into the kitchen. Grissom followed her. She spotted the pot on the stove and moved to it. Picking up the wooden spoon from the counter she placed it in the pot and stirred. "You're making a broth?" she asked inhaling the scent form the cooking vegetables.

"Yes," he replied. "I was starting to, for Sara more than anything…if she can eat it."

She smiled and looked at him. "You have to eat too you know? When did you last eat?"

Looking to the floor, Grissom worked his boot into the wood beneath his feet.

"Gil?" she pushed.

Sighing he raised his head. "Yesterday, mid afternoon I think."

Laura folded her arms across her chest and glared at him. "So you're not sleeping or eating?"

"It's…difficult…" he grumbled.

"To look after yourself? You consider you can continue to care for my daughter if you can't care for yourself? How long will you last?"

"I…" Grissom shook his head, a little stunned by her words. She was berating him? After everything he had done?

She stepped right up to him and he swallowed the dry lump which had formed in his throat. "Get some sleep, Gil, and I'm not asking you. If I am trusting you with Sara's care, whether I am here or not, then you need to be strong for her. And when you wake you will eat. Do you understand?"

The rancher's brow rose. "Um…I need to finish…" He pointed to the pot.

"No you don't," Laura replied firmly. "I will." She pointed towards the bed. "Sleep…now."

Grissom conceded. He hadn't the energy to argue. "Yes, Ma'am," he mumbled as he backed away.

*** "-any fancies, any reasons, any apprehensions, anything whatsoever, new or old, against the man she really loved-the direct responsibility thereof not lying on his head-they should all be obliterated for her sake. She is everything to me; more to me than suffering, more to me than wrong, more to me-Well! This is idle talk."

"So strange was the way in which he faded into silence, and so strange his fixed look when he had ceased to speak..."

*** - Extract take from A Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens

A/N: So mother and father have arrived. How will it work out? Will Grissom and the captain ever be able to see eye to eye again? Can Grissom hold on to Sara? Can she even hold on herself? Ah...we shall see :D