Title: Dessert Heat
Author: chocomkr
Fandom: CSI
Pairing: Cath/Sara
Rating: NC-17
Word count: 20,128
Summary: The heat of the Vegas summer makes the graveyard shift's work more difficult.

***

It was a sultry 116 degrees in the shade. Summer was always a bad
time in Las Vegas. The heat turned what would otherwise be normal
level headed people into animals. This summer was no different. The
grave yard shift had been pulling doubles all month long, trying to
get to the bottom of several high profile cases. One of which was
the triple murder out at Lake Meade. There was very little evidence
at this point, and none of it pointed to any one person in
particular. The promise of more overtime was evident at the mad pace
Grissom was rushing about the halls as Sara walked in for shift.

"Hey Gris, anything new on the triple?" Sara asked.

"Not yet. I'm hoping there will be soon though. I've got the
sheriff and the mayor breathing down my neck with a blow torch to get
it solved."

Sara headed to the break room to join the rest of the crew who were
going over their cases.

"Hey Sar, did you get some rest?" Nick asked.

"A bit yes, thank you. How about the rest of you?"

"Not much, if any" Catherine said. "Lindsay left this morning for
her month long summer camp trip. We had a lot of packing and stuff
to do."

"Not I pulled another double last night. I'm dead dog tired."
Warrick said yawning.

"Ok guys we need to get these cases solved." Grissom barked as he
entered the break room. "We have been given 3 days to get to the
bottom of the triple at Lake Meade Sara or it will go to days. The
sheriff is not happy with the progression, or lack there of, of this
case. If I could pull one of the others off their cases to help you
I would, but we're catching a lot of heat from those too. Everybody
is on duty until you come up with something substantial."

The room is filled with moans and groans.

"Not my call people. Let's get busy."

With that Grissom left the room.

"I wonder what crawled up his backside." Nick said.

"Hard to tell man, hard to tell." Warrick said as he left the room.

Sara went to the layout room to go over the evidence of the triple
once more, hoping that she'd find something new she missed in sleep
deprivation. An hour later she was in Brass's office.

"What'cha got Sara?"

"I don't know how I could have missed it before but the print on the
knife handle matches the print on the watch of the third victim.
That victim's name is Devon Ines. The print belongs to one Nathan
Ines, but he's not one of the victims. We need to get a DNA sample
to compare the sperm to found in the vic's body."

"I'll see if I can track him down. I'll call you when we bring him
in"

"Thanks Jim."

Two hours later, Sara was paged to join the interrogation.

"Mr. Ines, I'm sorry for your loss, but we have a few questions that
we're hoping you can help us with." Sara started.

"Sure, anything I can do to help catch my wife's killer."

"First of all, would you mind if we took a DNA sample? We need it
for comparison with the DNA found on your wife's body."

"Uh, don't you need a warrant for that?" Mr. Ines said cockily.

"That would be what this is Mr. Ines." Brass said as he slid the
warrant on the table to Mr. Ines.

"Guess I don't have a choice in the matter then do I?" Mr. Ines said
staring at Sara. "You know Ms. Sidle; you are an amazingly beautiful
woman."

"May I please just take the sample?" Sara asked, trying to hide her
frustration.

"Only if I can rub something along the inside of your mouth." He
said with a chuckle.

"That's enough Mr. Ines." Brass stated. "Keep it up and you'll find
yourself charged with sexual harassment.

"Ease up man, I was just playing around."

"Tell us, Mr. Ines, how your fingerprints came to be on the watch
your wife was wearing and the weapon that was used to kill her and
the other two victims."

"Well, Detective, it's no stretch that my prints would be on my
wife's watch, since I'm the one that gave it to her. Now how they
ended up on the knife is beyond me."

Sara smiled at Mr. Ines last comment.

"What are you smiling at beautiful? Something I said earlier finally
grabbing you between the legs?"

Before Brass could say a word Sara spoke up.

"Actually no, Mr. Ines, what I'm smiling at is that I didn't say
anything about what the weapon was, but yet you knew it was a knife.
How is that Mr. Ines?"

Mr. Ines immediately tried to cover his tracks. "Something I must
have read in the paper I guess. The bitch had it coming though,
cheating on me with my business partner. But you'll never be able to
pin anything on me. I was in Henderson that night in a business
meeting with a few of my colleagues."

"This same business meeting where you lost $5000 in an hour of
poker?" Sara asked.

"How the hell did you know about that?" Ines said getting
increasingly frustrated.

"It's my job to know these things Mr. Ines. But your alibi falls
apart because the casino owner said you were thrown out of the casino
at roughly 12:45 am. The time of death on the three victims is
approximately 2am. Now, it's a bit of a drive from Henderson back to
Summerlin where you live."

"Yea, so I got kicked out of the casino. What of it?"

"Well, the owner also said that you and your wife checked in for the
night as you usually do when you have one of your `business'
meetings. He also said that the occupants in the rooms on each side
of the one you and your wife were in called to complain about yelling
inside, sounds of glass breaking etc. So why don't you tell us what
really happened?"

"I don't have anything to say to you bitch. You think you know what
happened? Why don't you tell me?"

"Ok Mr. Ines. This is what the evidence is telling us. You and your
wife checked in at the casino at 10:30 pm. The private game started
at 11pm and was supposed to last until 6am. But you got kicked out
at 12:45 am. So you went upstairs to your room. Then the reports of
yelling and things being thrown around the room starting coming in.
What's the matter Mr. Ines, did your wife have a little party of her
own?" Sara asked.

Mr. Ines leapt from his chair, staring Sara down hard. She didn't
flinch. "If it makes you feel better, yes she had two of my partners
in our room, in our bed."

Brass and the officer had seated Mr. Ines back down in his seat; the
officer's hand remained on his shoulder.

"You better get a grip Mr. Ines. You're dancing awful close to
assault of a police officer." Brass said as he walked around and
stood beside Sara with his hand on the back of her chair.

"But what we don't know is where you killed the three victims. There
is no blood evidence in the room, and not enough blood at the dump
site. Therefore, that was the secondary crime scene."

"Then I guess you better get back to work, huh pretty lady, because I
have nothing more to say to you. Now unless you are going to charge
me, I'm leaving." Mr. Ines said as he walked out the interrogation
room.

Brass placed his hand on Sara's shoulder. "You Ok? He said some
pretty out of line stuff in there, not to mention getting in your
face like that."

"Yea I'm fine. It just makes me so angry that some men feel like
they can intimidate a woman just by getting in their face and saying
obscene things." Sara said as she left the room. Halfway down the
hall, Mr. Ines steps in front of her.

"You think you know it all don't you Ms. Sidle? You don't even know
the beginning of it. But I guarantee, you keep it up and you'll find
out where the initial crime scene is, but you won't like how you get
there." He whispered, hate filling his eyes.

"Are you threatening me Mr. Ines?"

"No Sara, I'm not threatening. I'm promising." Ines said as he
grazed Sara's breast with his shoulder as he walked past her.

Sara was frozen to the spot where she stood; trying to decipher what
just took place. A hand on her shoulder made her jump.

"Sara, are you ok?" Grissom asked. "Brass just told me about the
interrogation with Mr. Ines.

"Uh, yea, I'm fine. Mr. Ines just threatened me."

"What did he say?"

"That if I keep up the investigation I will find the primary crime
scene but won't like how I get there. Then when he walked away, he
brushed his shoulder into my chest."
"I'm going to call Brass and have him arrested."

"No no no. He's on edge. He's going to make a mistake. When he
does, I'll be there to nail him." Sara said as she headed back to
the layout room.

Desert heat chapter 2

Sara felt a new anger growing in her stomach. `This guy thinks he
can walk in here, sexually harass me, threaten me then brush up
against me. He is so going to pay for that.' Sara thinks to
herself. Pouring herself deep into the contents on the table she was
unaware of the person who entered the room.

Catherine knocked on the door, not wanting to scare Sara. She had
heard about the threats and advances Ines had made towards her and
how she reacted to Grissom's touch. The last thing she wanted to do
was put both of them in an awkward position.

"Sara?" Catherine spoke.

"Hey, how's your case going?"

"Better. I found some solid evidence that will at least get me a
warrant to search the guy's house. How about you? I heard about the
threats."

"I'm fine. He was just spouting off. I don't think he'd really do
anything to me, especially after the scene he made in front of Brass
and the other officer."

"Yea, but between the forward comments and then brushing into you
like that, this guy thinks he can get away with anything. You need
to be careful."

"I know he thinks he can get away with anything and that's why I'm
going to scour through the evidence again and put him away. He's
going to mess up Cath and when he does I'm going to be there to see
him put away for a very very long time." Sara said as she picked up
another photograph. She looked it over for several long seconds then
picked up the magnifying glass.

"You got something there?" Catherine asked as she came to stand
beside Sara.

"Take a look at this will you? Tell me what you see." Sara said
handing her the photo and magnifying glass.

"Well, it looks like a tire track, but way too smooth for that. It
digs in deep into the soil making a perfectly straight line. Hmmm,
what are you thinking?"

"Well, we know that the beach was not the initial crime scene, nor
the secondary. We are looking at at least three: the hotel room, the
beach, and the one in the middle. There wasn't enough blood at the
hotel or the beach for either one to be the primary. If there were
no tire marks, how did he get them bodies to the shore?" Sara leaded
on.

"A boat." Catherine said.

"Exactly. We need to see if he has a boat, where it's docked and if
anybody saw him that night on his boat."

"Good luck girl. Keep me posted." Catherine said as she headed back
for the door. "Oh and please be careful. This guy's just cocky
enough to get away with it a second time."

"Thanks for the concern Cath." Sara said as she walked down the hall
to Brass's office.

"Hey Sara, how are you doing? Gil told me about the threats. If I
catch wind of it again I will bring him in."

"I may need you to do that anyway. This photo shows a deep groove in
the soil at the beach. There are no tire marks anywhere which means
he used a boat. I need to know if he has a boat and where his slip
is and at which dock."

"You're doing some great work here Sara. I'll get you that
information. Be careful, ok?" Brass said.

"Thanks for your concern Jim. I really don't think he's going to
cause a problem." Sara said leaving Brass's office.

`I need some coffee.' Sara thought to herself. She meandered into
the break room where Greg had just finished brewing a pot of this
liquid black gold. He poured her a cup and handed it to her.

"How's the case coming?" He asked.

"It's coming along fine Greg. I have some promising leads that I
think will be very fruitful in the near future."

"Glad to hear it." Greg said as he headed back to his lab.

Sara sat in the quiet solitude of the break room, thinking over the
case. There was something that just didn't quite add up and she
couldn't put her finger on it and that made her angry. Just as she
was about to head back to the layout room she got another page from
Brass.

"Hey, what's up?" She asked.

"There is no boat registered to a Nathan Ines, nor his company."

"What about to any of the victims?" Sara asked.

"I checked on that too. Zilch. Unless you can come up with an eye
witness who saw the name of the boat or the license number we are at
a stand still."

"Ok. Thanks Jim." Sara walked out of the office feeling angry
again. `This guy is slick.' She thought to herself. She walked to
Grissom's office to find him going over some reports.

"Hey." She said.

"Hey there, anything new?" He asked.

"No. I had a lead but it fell through. Ines doesn't have a boat
registered to him or his wife or either of the other two victims. I
studied the photos more and came to the conclusion that the mark in
the dirt is from a boat, that's how he transported them to the beach
and is most likely the primary crime scene. It's still early enough
I'm going to head out to Lake Meade and see if I can find any
witnesses."

"Ok. Please just be careful. Get Brass to send an officer with
you."

"I'll be fine Grissom. I've got my gun and you know where I'll be.
I'll check in if you like."

"Please do."

Sara headed out to her Tahoe to go back to Lake Meade. The drive was
longer than she had anticipated, so when she arrived it was almost
11:30 pm. She pulled her Tahoe up into a parking spot. She noticed
a light on in the concession area and headed over for a closer look.
As she drew closer she noticed a boat in the dock. She pulled out
her notebook and wrote the license number down, the continued to the
stand. She was met halfway there by a large man, very well dressed
for hanging out at the lake.

"What can I do for you pretty lady?" He asked in a husky voice.

"I'm Sara Sidle, with the Las Vegas crime lab. I'm investigating the
triple murder. Were you here Tuesday night around 2:30 am?"

"Nah, I only come here every once in a while to, uh, ya know, catch a
little on the side while my wife's out of town."

"I see. Have you seen anything suspicious around here tonight?"

"Nope. Not a thing."

"Is that your boat there in the dock?"

"Yes it is. Wanna go for a moonlit cruise?" He asked moving closer
to Sara.

"I'm sorry; I didn't catch your name."

"That's because I never gave it to you. So how about that cruise?"
The man said moving still closer to Sara.

"No thank you. I need to be getting back to the lab." Sara said as
she turned to walk back to her Tahoe. It seemed like it was taking
forever to get there. Just as she reached up to open the door and
hand grabs her arm and swings her around.

"Nobody turns down a cruise with me." He said stepping deep into
Sara's personal space.

"I said no and I meant no." Sara said pulling her jacket aside to
show him she was armed.

"Ohhh, ok, pretty lady, I get your point. You just take care of
yourself now, you hear? Wouldn't want anything to happen to such a
pretty lady." He said as he turned and walked back to the stand.

Sara immediately got into the Tahoe and re-locked the doors. Picking
up her cell phone she called Brass.

"Brass."

"Hi Jim, its Sara. I need you to run this boat registration number
and see who it comes back to."

"Sure thing."

Brass did a quick search with Sara still on the line.

"Comes back to a Paul Brady of Henderson Nevada."

"Paul Brady." Sara repeated a few times.

"Isn't he one of the guys Ines was playing poker with that night?"

"The name sounds familiar." Brass said.

"I'm certain it is. Ask Grissom to look in my file and if it's him
would you pull him in for questioning?" Sara asked. "I'll be back
in the lab in about an hour."

"Sounds good. See you then, and be careful." Brass said as he hung
up the phone.

The pieces were starting to fall together. Now all she needed was a
warrant to get on that boat and have a look around.

Desert heat chapter 3
Thank you Maggie for the help with this one.


As Sara walked back into the lab, Brass met her at the door.

"We have Paul Brady in interrogation room one. Care to join me?"

"That's the best news I've heard all night." Sara said as the two of
them walked into the room.

"Well well, who do we have here?" Brady asked.

"You two know each other?" Brass asked.

"You could say that. I was talking with this pretty lady at the lake
not too long ago." Brady said eyeing Sara up and down.

"So, tell me about your boat Mr. Brady." Sara said.

"Look I already told you. I come to the lake to see my sweetheart
when the wife's out of town. She didn't show tonight and just as I'm
pulling back in town, this officer here pulls me over and brings me
in for questioning."

"Tell us more about where you were Tuesday night Mr. Brady." Brass
stated.

"Look, I already told this pretty lady here I wasn't at the lake."

"This pretty lady has a name and I suggest you start using it."
Brass scowls.

"Or what, you'll throw a sexual harassment suit against me?" Brady
scoffs.

"Interesting choice of words Mr. Brady." Sara stated. "Do you know
a Nathan Ines?"

"I might know of him, what's it to you?"

"You see Mr. Brady, his wife and two of his business partners wound
up dead after he left your poker game the other night. The bodies
were dumped after being transported on a boat to the beach. What do
you know about that?" Sara asked.

"Look. My boat wasn't out Tuesday night. I was at the game until
well after 6:30 am. Ask any of the other guys."

"So Mr. Ines didn't come ask you to borrow your boat or anything like
that?" Sara questioned.

"No he didn't and I don't care for the accusations you're making."

"If you're certain your boat wasn't out that night then you wouldn't
have any problems with Ms. Sidle have a look around would you?"
Brass asked.

"Not to be a pain here, but don't you need a warrant for that?"
Brady asked.

"Technically yes we do unless you're willing to cooperate."

"I'll cooperate once you get me that little piece of paper signed by
a judge stating you have enough reason to believe I have something to
hide. Until then, you'll just have to work a little harder now won't
you pretty lady." Brady said as he stood up to leave.

As soon as he was gone Brass stepped closer to Sara.

"I think he knows Mr. Ines pretty well. I also think the two have
been talking recently. He repeated too many phrases for that
conversation for my liking." Brass said.

"Yea, me too." Sara said trying to will the hairs on her neck to lie
back down.

It was time for shift to be over and since everyone had made good
progress on their cases the Sheriff decided to cut them all a break
and sent them on their way. Catherine and Sara walked out together.

"Did the boat lead go anywhere?" Catherine asked.

"Not very far. There was a boat at the lake tonight that belongs to
one of the guys Ines was playing poker with, but he said the boat
didn't go out that night."

"And of course he wasn't willing to let you look around without a
warrant."

"Right. But the eerie thing is that Brady repeated several phrases
from the conversation we had with Ines earlier, so the two have
obviously been talking."

Catherine looked over Sara's shoulder to see a man walking quickly
towards them. Sara saw the concern spread over Catherine's face and
turned to see what she was looking at. No sooner had she turned
around did Mr. Ines get in her face.

"I think you need to stop bothering my associates Ms. Sidle."

"I'm just doing my job Mr. Ines. I would think that you would want
to find out who killed your wife and business partners since you deny
any involvement with it."

Mr. Ines stepped in closer and grabbed Sara's arm and twisted it
behind her back, placing her between him and Catherine, pulling up on
it causing Sara a fair amount of pain. "I think you need to stop
your investigation if you know what's good for you Sara. I'd hate to
see anything happen to such a pretty lady."

Sara fought hard against the strain on her shoulder and arm. She
managed to wiggle away, but Ines' grip was so strong it broke her
wrist watch in half. Sara backed up against Catherine, wanting to
put as much space between herself and Ines.

"Not a very smart move to assault an officer on police property Mr.
Ines." Catherine stated.

"This doesn't concern you missy. My business is with Sara here. You
just go on about your day before you find yourself in a load of
trouble."

Sara stepped back in between the two, not wanting anything to happen
to Catherine.

As Ines was about to continue his physical conversation with Sara, he
noticed Brass walk out the door of the building.

"This is your last chance, pretty lady. Back off." Ines said as a
car pulled up next to them and he jumped in. The car drove off
before either of them could get a license plate.

"Hey ladies, what's going on here?" Brass asked.

"Ines just attacked Sara." Catherine said taking a look at Sara's
now bruising and swelling wrist.

"Take her to get it looked at. I'm putting an officer outside her
apartment. This has gone way too far."

Catherine nodded and helped Sara into the car. While Sara was in
with the doctor, Catherine ran a small errand. As she returned back
to the hospital, Sara was walking out the door, her wrist in a small
cast.

"What did the doctor say?" Catherine asked.

"Well, the bastard managed to break my wrist." Sara said cradling
her wrist. "He gave me some pain killers to use for the next few
days. He said I should feel lucky that it wasn't a spiral fracture."

"Let's get you home so you can rest. I'll tell Grissom you won't be
in tonight."

"No, I'm coming in. I need to put this case to rest."

"Sara, you need to be more concerned with your personal safety right
now. The case isn't going anywhere."

"I'll stay in and do paperwork. I promise." Sara said crossing her
heart with her fingers.

"Ok. I bought you something while you were with the doctor."
Catherine said as she handed Sara the bag.

"Thank you. You didn't have to do that." Sara said as she took the
bag and opened it. She pulled out a box and inside was a replacement
watch.

"I thought you might need one since your other got broken."
Catherine said looking at the steering wheel.

"Thank you. It's neat. What are all these little gismos for?" Sara
asked.

"Not sure really. I just thought it looked like you." Catherine
lied. She knew full well what those functions were. `If Sara
doesn't want to take care of herself, then I will.' Catherine thought
to herself as she remembered the sales clerk telling her how to work
the global positioning unit.

Sara was trying to put the new watch on her right wrist since the
left was broken but was having a very difficult time maneuvering with
the cast.

"Here, let me help." Catherine said taking the watch and gently
closing it on Sara's slender wrist. "There. Do you like it?"

"I love it. Thank you again." Sara answered.

"Good. Now I'm taking you to my place. I know Brass has an officer
at your place, but I'd feel better if you stayed with me. I have an
extra bedroom so you don't have to sleep on the couch."

"Oh Catherine that's too much. I'll be fine at my place."

"I insist." Catherine said with that look of hers that said `I'm not
taking no for an answer damn it.'

Desert heat chapter 4

The two pulled up into Catherine's drive way and scanned the area
well before exiting the car. The recent events had both of them
edgy. As they got inside, Sara made her way to the couch to sit down.

"Let me get you some water so you can take some medicine." Catherine
said as she walked to the kitchen. She returned a moment and handed
Sara the glass and her prescription.

"How are you doing?" Catherine asked.

"Ok I guess. I love this watch." Sara said admiring it. "You
really didn't have to do that."

"I know I didn't, but I wanted to." Catherine said as she sat down
next to Sara on the couch.

It didn't take long for the meds to kick in as Sara was finding it
extremely difficult to stay awake.

"Let me help you to your room." Catherine said helping a groggy Sara
off the couch.

`Your room.' Sara thought to herself. `I like the sound of that.
Oh, Sidle, get a grip. Man these pain killers are great.' She
continued to think. She started to giggle a little bit.

"What's so funny?" Catherine asked.

"Everything." Sara said.

"Ah, the joys of pain killers." Catherine laughed along with Sara.
The two reached the top landing of the stairs and Catherine helped
Sara into the guest's room.

"Here you go. There's some t-shirts and shorts or sweat pants in the
dresser there. Make yourself at home. I'll just be down the hall if
you need anything Sara." Catherine said heading for the door.

"Thaaank you Cath-er-ine." Sara slurred. "You know these drugs are
wunerful, wunerful, wunerful." Sara said with a chuckle.

"I'm glad they make you feel better Sara. Get some sleep."

"In a-all honesy, Cath, I think I wuv you. I have wuved you from the
fuurst day we met. I have dreamed sooooo many times of sleeping in
your house and now I really am."

"Good night Sara." Catherine said closing the door.

Sara didn't even make it that long before she was out cold on the
soft bed.

Sara woke later to the sounds of pots and pans banging around in the
kitchen. She sat up on the bed and looked at the clock on the
bedside table. `Oh, it's 6:30 already. Mental note to self, half
the dose next time, Sara, half the dose.' She said as she tried to
stand up. Her legs wouldn't quite work like they should so she chose
to sit back down for a bit.

"Hey sleepy head." Catherine said poking her head in the bedroom
door.

"Hey there yourself. Next time, only half a dose ok?" Sara said.

"I already figured that one out from the things you were saying
earlier." Catherine chuckled.

"Oh yea? What did I say?"

"Just that you loved me and have since the day we first met."
Catherine watched carefully for Sara's reaction.

Blushing twenty shades of red, Sara tried to respond. "Well, as
funny as that may sound, drug induced confession or not, it's true."
She said wringing her hands on her lap. She was afraid to look up at
Catherine, afraid of what she would see. But much to her surprise,
Catherine quickly found her way to the bed and sat beside Sara.

"I'm so glad you feel that way. I have felt something very similar
for a long time now but just didn't know how to approach you. I was
afraid you'd laugh in my face."

"I'd never do that. Even though we fight a lot, I have never not
wanted to be with you."

Catherine surprised them both and leaned in for a quick kiss, nothing
too passionate, even though every fiber in her body wanted to take
Sara right there and then. When she pulled away she looked deep into
Sara's chocolate colored eyes, looking for acceptance. She found
what she was looking for as Sara pulled her in for another kiss, this
time longer and more passionate.

The oven timer going off shook them from their feast on each other's
mouth, breaking the most soulful kiss either had ever experienced

Catherine pulled back slightly, only enough to see Sara's
eyes. "Guess I'd better get dinner out of the oven."

"Only if you have to." Sara whispered as she leaned in and kissed
Catherine's soft full lips again.

"Mmmmm." Catherine moaned. The oven timer went off again. "Shit."
Catherine said into Sara's mouth. "Let me go take that out of the
oven. You stay put, I'll be right back. Hold that thought until I
get back?" Catherine asked.

"I've been holding that thought for years, I guess another few
minutes won't hurt." Sara said teasingly. She watched intently as
Catherine turned and walked from the room. `I finally did something
right by her.' Sara thought to herself. `I will do whatever it takes
to keep her.'

A noise from the kitchen stirred Sara from her daydream. She
listened closely to figure out what was going on. Then she heard
glass breaking. Her legs still wobbly, she made it down the stairs
as fast as she could. "Catherine? Are you ok?" She yelled with
fear filling her words.

"Huh? Yea, just dropped something." Catherine said. "Sorry to scare
you."

"It's ok." Sara said as she rounded the corner into the kitchen from
the stairs. She walked in to see Catherine picking up the bits and
pieces of casserole dish that had broken on the floor. She bent down
to help Catherine clean the mess.

"The hot pad slipped and the pan came to rest against my finger and I
dropped it." Catherine said.

Sara instinctively took Catherine's hand in hers to inspect the
burn. "It doesn't look to bad, but you should still run it under
some cold water. I'll finish cleaning up." She said but Catherine
didn't budge.

"Go." Sara said pointing to the kitchen sink. She finished cleaning
up the spill and glass as Catherine turned the water off. Again,
Sara inspected her finger. "I think you'll be ok, but just to be
sure-" Sara's words fell silent as she picked up Catherine's hand and
brought the burned finger to her lips, kissing it gently.

Catherine moved in closer, breathing the same air Sara was
breathing. The two locked eyes, looking deep into one another's
souls. Catherine's hands found their way into Sara's hair, pulling
her in closer as Sara's hands found Catherine's waist.

"I didn't really feel like eating anyway, but I can whip you up a
sandwich if you like." Catherine whispered in Sara's ear.

"I don't feel much like eating either." Sara said pulling back to
see the look on Catherine's face as she said, "Food, anyway."

The mounding tension of the last few years of them both knowing what
they wanted but not knowing how to proceed exploded in a symphony of
hands moving, lips kissing, buttons popping off onto the floor of the
kitchen, clothing being shed to the floor. When the two came up for
air, both were completely naked. They stood only a few inches apart
from one another, each drinking in the beauty of the goddess before
them. Catherine reached over to Sara and in a fluid movement picked
up her naked body and carried it to the plush carpet in the living
room near the fireplace. She lay her down gently, and then lit a
large candle and put it in the fireplace, after all, it was summer in
Vegas and there was already enough heat in the living room to start a
fire, a fire of physical pleasure each wished to ignite with the
other. Catherine pulled the drapes clothed in the living room,
making it as dark as possible before joining Sara on the floor.

Desert heat chapter 6

Catherine scooted in closer to Sara, their bare chests pushing hard
into the other. Their slender figures made perfect contact in all
the right spots, melding together as if molded for the other. Sara
tried to lay with her casted wrist stretched out on the floor above
her head, but could quickly tell it was going to cause her some
grief. Catherine noticed her uncomfortably and rolled Sara on her
back, propping her wrist up with a throw pillow from the couch.

"So you're more comfortable." Catherine whispered. Although in
reality, this was more than for Sara's comfort, it was so Catherine
could worship Sara's body, being the first to give her the pleasures
she had been dreaming of for years. Catherine lay next to Sara
again, straddling her stomach with her thigh, her center pressed into
the side of Sara's leg. Catherine's heat was almost searing the skin
it touched, showing Sara that Catherine's desire for her was as
strong as her desire for Catherine. Catherine laid her head on
Sara's chest, intent for the moment to listen to the sound of Sara's
heart beat begin to race and her fingers trailed their way over her
bare torso before gently rubbing along her breasts.

Sara's nipples took on a life of their own, growing hard and erect at
the gentle touches. Catherine took a breast in one hand and the
other she took in her mouth, slowly sucking while massaging the
other. She rolled herself up on an elbow so more of her body was
lying on Sara's. Slipping her knee between Sara's legs, she
discovered Sara's desire for her matched her own. Catherine started
to grind her knee into Sara's now wet center while kissing her
stomach, enjoying the woman beneath her.

A moan escaped Sara's throat as Catherine's knee continued with its
magic, Sara's naked form arching high off the floor to meet every
motion of Catherine's body. Catherine could sense it wouldn't be
long before Sara was going over the edge so she slowly made her way
down her long torso, kissing and nibbling the entire way down. She
stopped for a brief moment when she reached Sara's mound, looking up
to her face wanting her to beg for her to continue.

Sara arched higher, trying to encourage Catherine to continue.

"Say it." Catherine said in a lusty voice.

"Make love to me Catherine. I need to feel your mouth on me." Sara
panted.

Catherine proceeded to continue her journey down, lapping at the
folds before pushing her tongue between them. Sara gasped as
Catherine's tongue found its treasure, flicking the swollen nub.
Just as quickly, Catherine entered Sara's dripping center with two
fingers, slowly massaging their way in and out and she continued to
rub her clit with her tongue. Catherine could feel Sara's muscles
tighten around her fingers and she brought her to the edge of desire
and then allowed her to go over the edge, continuing with her
thrusting and sucking. After Sara had stopped shaking from her
ecstasy, Catherine withdrew her fingers and moved up to kiss Sara,
allowing her to taste herself on Catherine's mouth.

Catherine knee was still between Sara's leg for support and soon
Sara's knee found Catherine's center, raising her knee to grind
against it. Catherine knew it would be difficult for Sara to return
the favors, so she straddled her stomach, hot wet center pressing
against Sara's firm stomach. She began to rock front to back,
grinding her center deep into Sara's skin. Sara sat up, leaning back
against the couch and Catherine continued the lap dance for Sara.
Sara's hand roamed over the body on top of hers, pulling a breast
into her mouth, nipping at the hard nipple she found. She pulled
Catherine onto her tighter, and began rocking with her, feeling her
stomach grow wet with Catherine's desire. She paused only long
enough to place her hand between her and Catherine, allowing
Catherine to climb on her fingers. Sara wrapped her casted arm
around Catherine's back to help support her as Catherine quickened
the pace on her fingers. Sara sucked violently on Catherine's
breasts, relishing in the feel of Catherine's inner muscles on her
fingers. Sara carefully inserted two more fingers into the wet cave
causing Catherine so yell out in pleasure.

As Catherine was about ready to come, she looked deep into Sara's
eyes, each staring into the other's soul, sharing the moment. After
Catherine had finished riding out the wave, she pulled herself closer
to Sara, resting her head on Sara's chest trying to catch her breath.

The two of them then lay back down on the floor and Catherine pulled
a blanket from the couch, covering them as they fell asleep in each
other's arms.

Desert heat chapter 7

Catherine and Sara spent the remainder of the day cuddled together,
enjoying the touches and kisses. Time came for them to head in for
shift.

"Are you sure you want to go in? You could just stay here and
relax." Catherine offered.

"No I want to go in. Besides after not being at my place today Brass
is liable to have a kitten if I don't go in."

"I called him after we got back this morning. He knew you were
staying here."

"Oh. Ok. Thanks." Sara said. "I do need to run home to get a
change of clothes before we head in."

"Sure. We'll leave in a minute. Brass said he was going to leave
the office on your apartment until further notice so things should be
safe."

"You don't really think Ines would be stupid enough to do anything do
you?" Sara questioned.

"I don't know. He was stupid enough to assault you in front of me in
the parking lot of the police department. I wouldn't put anything
past him at this point."

The two pulled up in front of Sara's apartment, the office still out
front. Catherine went over to talk to him.

"Hey there." Catherine said to the office.

"Hey. All's been quiet all day. No sign from the front or back that
anybody's been messing around."

"Good. Thank you." Catherine said as she headed back to Sara.

"He says its all clear." Catherine said to Sara as they climbed the
stairs.

As they entered the apartment, Catherine pulled her gun. "Just let
me check it first, ok?"

"Sure. I'll stay here."

Catherine walked through the apartment, opening all the closets and
checking all the windows.

"Ok. It's clear. Grab your stuff."

Sara walked to her bedroom and quickly changed. She and Catherine
had showered at her place before leaving so it only took her a minute
to get dressed.

The drive to the lab was quick and quiet. Not much needed to be said
after the day they had just spent together. They were both content
to hold each other's hand, savoring the touch. As they pulled up in
the parking lot they could see the rest of the gang had already
arrived. Sara was greeted warmly by all from the crew.

"Hey girl, what are you doing here?" Warrick asked.

"Yea." Said Nick. "You should have stayed home and rested."

"I'm fine guys, thanks. I'm just going to do paperwork tonight. I
promise."

They headed into the break room to have the nightly pow wow with
Grissom.

"Sara, how are you feeling?" Grissom asked.

"Fine. I'd feel better if everybody would stop asking me that." She
stated.

"We're just all concerned for your safety."

"I know. Thanks."

"Ok. Nick and Warrick, you need to head over to the New York New
York. DB in the sauna. Catherine, I need you to finish your report
on your case. Brass is bringing in the suspect as we speak. Sara,
you are to stay here and work on reports. I don't want you out in
the field tonight, is that clear?"

"Yes."

"Ok then. Let's get busy, and guys please be careful."

The crew headed out to their respective assignments. Sara headed to
the layout room to work on reports.

An hour later, Sara got a page. "Meet me out back; I have a theory
to run by you. G."

`Hmm. I wonder what Grissom wants.' Sara said as she headed for the
back exit.

"Hey Sara, wanna grab some coffee?" Greg asked.

"Not now Greg. Grissom just paged me to come see him out back."

"Ok then. Maybe later."

Sara left the building and stood by the loading dock where she though
Grissom would be waiting. A couple of minutes passed and there was
so sign of him. Just as she was about to head back in something
catches her eye. She turns around to see who it is only to see the
butt of a gun coming towards her head. Then everything went black.

Desert heat chapter 8

Greg met Grissom in the hallway.

"That was fast." He said to Grissom. "Is Sara back in yet?"

"What was fast and is Sara back in from what?" Grissom asked looking
over the rim of his glasses.

`You know, the theory you wanted to run by her out back." Greg
answered.

"I didn't have a theory to run by her. What's going on Greg?"
Grissom's voice began to strain.

"I met her in the hall about fifteen minutes ago and asked if she
wanted some coffee and she said you had paged her about a theory you
wanted to run by her out back. I figured it was another pig thing."

"Greg, I never paged Sara." Grissom's voice showed his panic. "Call
Brass and get his out back and Catherine, too. Now!" Grissom yelled
as he ran to the back exit.

He burst through the door yelling her name. "Sara! Sara where are
you?" He took a couple steps out the door and saw her cell phone
smashed on the ground and a small patch of what appeared to be
blood. Brass nearly knocked him over as he ran from the building.

"What's going on Gil?" He asked out of breath.

"Sara's gone. She told Greg that she got a page from me saying I had
a theory I wanted to run past her and to meet me out back, but I
never paged her. That was fifteen minutes ago. God she could be
anywhere." He said as he was turning circles looking at what was now
a crime scene.

Catherine was the next to come through the door. "What's going on
Gris? Greg said you needed me out here ASAP?"

"Sara is gone. Someone sent her a page saying it was from me to meet
me back here and now she's gone."

"How long ago was that?" She said, the fear building in her voice.

"Fifteen minutes ago. I found her cell phone smashed over there next
to a small patch of what appears to be blood."

"Let's not panic Gil. There's not enough blood for anything serious
to have happened." Brass stated.
"Not here at any rate, but that doesn't mean that Mr. Ines isn't
going to do something much worse to her somewhere else." Grissom
said.

"I'll get an APB out on Ines and Brady. I'm sure we'll find her."
Brass said as he made a call from his cell phone.

"I knew I never should have let her come in tonight." Grissom
said. "Not after what happened this morning in the parking lot."

"It's not your fault Gris. I tried to get her to stay home, too.
She just wasn't going to do it. Fortunately, I think I have a way to
track her down. I bought her a watch to replace the one Ines broke
this morning. According to the sales clerk, it is equipped with a
GPS unit. Now if I can remember how to look it up on the computer
like she showed me."

"Does Sara know about the GPS unit?"

"No. I figured she wouldn't accept it if she did. I didn't go
searching for a watch with the chip in it, but once the clerk
mentioned it I thought it might be a good idea considering the
circumstances."

"Smart move Catherine. Let's get inside and see if we can track her
down."

Meanwhile, a noise startles Sara from her unconsciousness. She tried
to sit up but realized she was in a dark small space. Her head hurt
like hell but she was with it enough to realize she was in the trunk
of a car. She had been out far too long to get a bearing on where
she might be. Just as suddenly as she woke, the car stopped, dust
coming in through the cracks in the trunk molding. She heard voices,
none of which she could identify, but in the trunk everything sounded
like she was in a steel drum.

The voices grew louder as they came to the back of the car and keys
opened the trunk. She squinted hard trying to let her eyes adjust to
the bright beam of the maglight flashlight pointed in her face.

"Hey there pretty lady. Glad you could wake up and join the party."
An all too familiar voice spoke. "Come on out of there. We so far
away from where people can see there's no need to keep you locked up
in here." The voice said as it violently jerked her from the
confines of the trunk.

"Ah, Mr. Brady. So nice to see you again." Sara stated coldly.

She could see in his face what he was about to do and all she had
time to do was brace herself for the impact of Brady's solid fist
against her stomach. She fell to her knees, lungs screaming for
oxygen. Then she felt an arm jerk her up again.

"I think it would be wise of you to watch how you speak to us, Ms.
Sidle. You're on our territory now, no one's here to protect you.
How well you behave will determine how slowly or quickly you die. Is
that understood?" Brady said.

Sara was only able to shake her head as she still tried to catch her
breath.

Brady pulled her along by the arm, keeping a tight grip on her. Sara
took in her surroundings and quickly came to recognize the place she
was, for she had been here not 24 hours before. She was being
dragged to the same boat she saw in the dock the night before. Just
as they reached the pier, a dark figure stepped out from beside the
concession stand.

"Hey there pretty lady." The man said stepping closer. "It's so
good to see you again. I'm sure we'll enjoy each other's company
more now that detective isn't here to interfere." He said as he
leaned in and placed a kiss on Sara's neck. She tried pull away, but
Ines reached up and grabbed her by the hair. "Don't get cocky Sara.
Just enjoy the ride." He said turning to the boat. "Get her aboard
Brady." He said walking down the pier.

"You heard the man, let's go." Brady said roughly pulling her along.

Once everybody was aboard, Brady pushed the boat away from the pier
and started the engine. "I told you nobody refuses a moonlit cruise
with me." He said leaning and pressing himself against her.

"You said you were going to keep working until you found the primary
crime scene and I told you that if you kept going you'd find it.
Well Sara, welcome to the crime scene. There is no way for anyone to
find you."

Sara reached to her side looking for her cell phone.

"Oh dear, we took care of that for you. It's in about a thousand
little pieces back behind your lab."

The men could see her hopes dashed and her eyes took on the deer in
the headlights look. She was starting to panic, and that's just what
they wanted.

Desert heat chapter 9

"Any luck with tracking Sara?" Grissom asked.

"No." Catherine yelled. "Sorry, I didn't mean to yell. I just
can't get this damned thing to work right. I put a call into the
store but of course no body's there. The answering machine said they
open at 10am. I'm going to keep working on it, though, hoping I can
figure it out." Catherine said.

"She'll be fine. She's strong and knows how to take care of
herself." Grissom said trying to convince himself as much as he was
Catherine. Just then a cell phone started to ring. It was Grissom's.

"Grissom."

"Ok. Keep me posted."

"That was Brass. No luck with the APB. Neither one is at their
house and both their cars are in the garages. Brass has notified the
police at the local docks with the boat registration number. If they
do go back to the lake maybe someone there will get to them."

Sara resigned herself to sit back and think of a plan. The moon was
bright and high in the sky, casting an eerie shadow alone the water.
Her wrist was hurting again, but she didn't have time to let herself
think of that now. They pulled out of the immediate lake area and
headed out into deep water. Sara didn't know what they were
planning; only that it was going to be bad.

`I'm not going to sit here and let myself just go along with the fact
that I'm going to die.' She thought to herself. `If I'm going to
die I'm at least going to do it trying to get away.'

With that, she waited for the two men to turn their attention to
something else before she bolted up off the floor of the boat and
threw herself over the side. She swam as hard as she could, trying
with every ounce of energy in her body to swim as quickly as she
could away from the boat. She noticed an area not too far from her
that appeared to be a small island so she focused on that. She heard
the engine on the boat rev hard as they made their way back to get
her. She swam harder and almost reached her destination as she felt
something wrap itself tightly around her neck. She grabbed hold of
it, trying to free herself.

"Bring her in Brady. She needs a lesson in who is captain of this
ship." Ines said.

Sara felt herself being pulled back to the boat. She could barely
breathe, but tears still found their way down her cheeks as the
realization of her situation hit hard. She felt her body being
pulled up out of the water by her neck, struggling to breathe. Brady
knelt down and cut the rope from her neck. Sara gasped for air,
willing her lungs not to explode. Once she regained her breathing,
she tried to sit up. Immediately she felt a sharp kick in her side.

"Next time you pull a stunt like that you're going to regret it."
Ines said as he took another kick at her.

Sara lay flat on the floor of the boat, again unconscious.

When she woke, the boat had stopped. She couldn't see shore on
either side of her, so she knew they were pretty far out. As she
tried to sit up, pain wracked her small body, her ribs resisting the
movement.

"All you had to do Sara was back off the investigation. If you'd
have listened to me, you wouldn't be in this position now. You'd be
back in the city working another case, talking with your friends or
what have you. But you couldn't take the hint. So now you are going
to learn the hard way." Ines said as she knelt beside her.

She could see him ball his fist up and watched it as it came closer
to her face. After the impact all she could see was stars and she
could feel a steady stream of blood flowing down her face. `Please
make this quick.' She thought to herself.

Brady picked her up and held her fast while Ines continued the
beating. It didn't take long for her body to collapse, no fight left
in her.

As she lay motionless on the deck of the boat, thoughts of Catherine
filled her mind, pushing out the intense pain she was feeling
throughout her entire body. Memories of the day they had shared
together, the intimacy, and the love they made. These memories made
her heart feel light. She could feel herself falling into a sleep
she was sure she'd never wake from, but she was ok with that. She
was reaching for Catherine's brilliantly glowing arms, knowing if she
could reach them she would be at peace.

Then Brady and Ines started talking amongst themselves ripping her
from her comforting thoughts.

"Hopefully that pretty blonde will listen better than you did Sara.
I'd hate to have to get rid of two of the most beautiful women I've
ever seen."

The thought of them going after Catherine sparked anger in her that
she had never felt before. It sent energy and strength coursing
through her veins.

"I'll be damned if you're ever going to hurt her." Sara said trying
to lift her broken body off the deck. "I swear on everything that is
holy if you so much as breathe on her face I will kill you." Sara
spoke through clenched teeth.

The two men started to laugh at her sudden spark of anger.
"You'll never know now will you pretty lady what we do or don't do to
her. Rest assured though, if we do decide to have a visit with her,
she'll find your final resting place." Ines whispered in her ear.

"Throw her over Brady. She thinks she's such a good swimmer, let's
see how she does."

Sara felt herself being lifted and thrown overboard. Her body was
heavy and she could feel herself falling deeper and deeper. Just as
she was about to pass out, she felt herself being lifted higher and
higher. She opened her eyes and saw Catherine's beautiful face.
Desert heat chapter 10

As Sara surfaced, she realized that Catherine wasn't there. It was a
hallucination brought on by the intense pain her body was feeling.
Nonetheless, she was glad to be at the surface.

`At least now I've got a chance.' She thought to herself. That was
at least until she started to hear gunshots and heard bullets
piercing the water around her.

"Swim pretty lady, it's your only chance." The two men from the boat
laughed.

Sara tried hard to make her body obey her brain's commands to start
swimming. She was able to get her body going, although only slowly.
Her body groaned at the acts in which it was being forced to
accomplish. Sara looked over her shoulder and saw the boat a good
bit away from her. `I think I'm going to make it.' She kept chanting
to herself. She heard to boat engine start again and hoped they were
just going to leave her. If they did, she had a fighting chance of
making it out of this alive. She heard a noise and immediately felt
a sharp stinging pain in her lower back. A bullet had struck her,
rendering her legs useless. She rolled onto her back to float,
pleading with the gods to help her. She tried to keep quiet, wanting
them to think she was dead. It was only after the sound of the
engine had died down did she realize they had left.

Sara focused hard to think through the pain wracking her body. She
floated very still on the surface of the water, not wanting to injure
herself further.

`I've made it this far.' She thought to herself. `I can make it
further.'

The sun was now peaking across the sky. Even in the water Sara could
feel it was already at least 95 degrees outside. The early morning
sun began to sting her fair exposed skin. But what concerned her
more was the fact that over the last few hours, the feeling in her
legs grew fainter and fainter. The rocking of the water eased her
into a sleep. Pleasant images filled her dreams.

Catherine had spent all night working on the computer trying to
locate Sara's coordinates. At exactly 10am she was on the phone with
the clerk at the store where she purchased Sara's watch. The clerk
walked her through how to access the information and in a matter of
seconds Catherine had a ten mile radius of where she was.

"Grissom. She's somewhere at Lake Meade. I have a ten mile radius.
I have the window on the laptop. That will allow us to see if she's
moving. Let's go." Catherine said as she ran to the Tahoe.

"Brass has officers on the way. The only chopper in service is out
on another call and will be dispatched once their assignment is
complete. We have to drive."

Grissom started the Tahoe and hits lights and sirens. By the time
they arrived at the lake it was almost noon. No sooner had they
arrived than the Lake Meade Sheriff's department boat arrived at the
pier. Catherine and Grissom climbed aboard and the boat lurched hard
in the water as the captain threw the throttle to the maximum speed.

"Ok. According to the monitor, she is somewhere in a ten mile radius
of our location. She doesn't seem to be moving." Catherine said.

The boat steamed along making an outer circle then moving inward to
the spot indicating Sara's location. After forty five minutes of
searching Catherine saw something in the water about half a mile out
through her binoculars.

"I think I see her. Over to the right about half a mile."

The captain of the boat headed off in Sara's direction.

Sara thought she heard Catherine's voice.

`Must be another hallucination.' She thought to herself. She had
lost all feeling in her legs by this point. The sun had seriously
burned her exposed skin. She noticed that the waves in the water
were picking up. More water came over her arms and face than what
had previously been.

Then she heard Catherine's voice again, calling out to her. The
water started to wash over her entire face, bogging her down, sending
her underneath the surface.

"Stop the boat, the waves are drowning her. Shut off the engine!"
Catherine yells.

As the boat comes to a halt, Catherine watches from a ways out as the
waves sink Sara and bring her to the surface again. She grabs a life
vest and jumps in the water swimming madly towards Sara.

Sara notices the waves have eased up and she's not fighting anymore
to stay afloat.

She swears she hears Catherine now. The voice seems to be getting
closer and closer. Suddenly, she sees Catherine's face and feels her
lips on her own.

"Oh baby, you're going to be ok. We're going to get you out of
here." Catherine said as she tried to put the life vest over Sara's
neck. She stopped when Sara cried out in pain.

"What's wrong? What hurts?"

"Shot. Back." Was all Sara was able to say.

Catherine slowly pulls her back to the boat, being careful not to
jostle her too much. Once they reach the side of the boat another
officer eases himself into the water.

"She said she was shot in the back and can't feel her legs. We need
to be super careful people." Catherine instructs as they pull Sara's
beaten form from the water.

Desert heat chapter 11

After they pulled Sara from the water, the sheriff called for a
medivac chopper from the trauma center in Vegas. It arrived just as
they arrived back to shore. The paramedics quickly assessed Sara and
prepared her for her flight to the hospital.

Catherine walked to the chopper, holding Sara's hand.

"You're going to be fine baby. I'll see you in a bit." Catherine
leaned down and kissed Sara's brow before the medics loaded her on
the chopper.

Grissom and Catherine immediately jumped back in the Tahoe and hit
the lights and sirens once again for the long drive back to Vegas.
Traffic was light so they made the trip in just over an hour.
Grissom let Catherine out at the trauma door and she quickly made her
way inside.

"I'm looking for a patient that was air lifted here earlier. Her
name is Sara Sidle."

"Are you a relative?" The nurse behind the desk asked.

"Yes. I'm her sister. Is she ok?" Catherine lied.

"Please follow me Ms.---"the nurse waited for Catherine to give her
name.

"Willows. Catherine Willows."

"Please have a seat in here. The doctor will be with you in a little
bit." The nurse said politely as she left the room.

Catherine knew this was the room where family waited to learn if
their loved one made it. All she could think about was the day they
shared together. `I just got you Sara and I'll be damned if I let
you go.' Catherine thought to herself.

She pace the room for what seemed like an eternity before the doctor
arrived.

"Ms. Willows, I'm Dr. Mathis. I understand you are Sara's sister?"

"Yes I am." Catherine lied again. "How is she?"

"Well to be quite honest, she's lucky to be alive. The bullet is
lodged in the lower right side of her back. Now the bullet itself
did not harm the spinal cord. However, the swelling from the trauma
is putting pressure on the nerves that control Sara's legs. We need
to wait for that swelling to go down before we can operate to remove
the bullet. If we go in now, we run great risk of compressing those
nerves beyond repair with the swollen tissue. We have her on
steroids to reduce the swelling."

"How long do you think it will be before you can operate?"

"I've seen it take as little as 24 hours and as long as a week. It
just depends on how her body reacts to the medication. Now the rest
of her injuries are substantial, but nothing life threatening. She
has several broken ribs, a concussion, and her previously broken
wrist."

"Can I see her please?"

"Yes you may, just keep it short. She's in ICU and visiting hours
are very limited up there. I want to warn you though; she is in a
device that is keeping her completely immobile. She won't be able to
raise her arms even. You may gently hold her hand, but other than
that she is not to be moved. We need to make sure the back and spine
don't suffer any more traumas."

"Thank you doctor." Catherine said as she stood to follow the doctor
out of the room.

"She is in room I-556."

Just as Catherine turned to head to the elevators, she saw Grissom
walking down the hallway.

"How is she?" He asked.

"The bullet is lodged in the right side of her back. It didn't cause
any damage to the spinal cord. However, there is some severe
swelling that is placing pressure on the nerves that control the
legs. They have to wait until the swelling goes down before they can
remove the bullet. Until then, she's on medication for the swelling
and in a support device limiting her movements. Listen, I said I was
her sister, so go along with it ok?" Catherine asked.

"Certainly."

"I'm on my way up to see her now. I'll keep you posted." Catherine
said stepping in the elevator as it opened.

Catherine knew Sara was in bad shape, but she wasn't prepared for
what she saw. She quietly walked into Sara's room and gently held
her hand. Sara's eyes opened and she managed a weak smile.

"Hey baby. How are you feeling?" Catherine asked as she kissed
Sara's forehead.

"In pain. I can't move my legs."

"I know honey. The doctor said the bullet didn't injure your spine.
There's just a lot of swelling back there putting pressure on your
nerves. The doctor said he has to wait for that to go down before he
can remove the bullet. That's why you have to be perfectly still."
Catherine said as tears started rolling down her cheek.

Sara began to cry as well. "I saw you in the lake. You pulled me up
after they threw me overboard. I was drowning and there you were.
You looked like such an angel."

"Shh baby. You need your rest. I'll be here when you wake up."

Sara allowed herself to fall asleep, feeling the pain subside as the
medication kicked in.

Desert heat chapter 12

Three days went by and Sara was doing better. The swelling had gone
down enough Dr. Mathis had scheduled the operation for tomorrow
morning to remove the bullet.

"Good evening baby." Catherine said as she bent down to kiss Sara.

"Mmmm. Much better now. I can't wait to kiss you back." Sara said
with a smile.

"Me either." Catherine growled. "Just think, tomorrow morning they
will remove the bullet and a few days after that you should start
feeling your legs again. You will have to have some pretty intensive
physical therapy, but I bet you'll be walking in no time." Catherine
said optimistically.

"Yea, I can't wait to"

"Cant' wait to what?" Grissom interrupted.

"Can't wait to walk out of here." Sara said looking at Catherine who
knew exactly what she was going to say.

"We have some good news for you Sara. We were able to track down
Ines and Brady. Their arraignment hearing is tomorrow. I'm sure the
DA will be looking to get the case going as soon as possible."

"Do they know I'm still alive yet?" Sara asked.

"Not yet. The DA will be calling you to the stand however."

"I can't wait to walk into that courtroom and nail his ass to the
wall. I told you he was going to make a mistake and I would be there
to nail him." Sara said with a huge sense of pride.

"Well, you almost weren't there Sara. Let's just get you healed; the
rest will take care of itself." Grissom said. "I need to run; I have
to get back to the lab. In a few hours the DA will be in to prepare
for the hearing. I'll stop back by after court." Grissom said as he
kissed Sara's forehead.

"See you then Gris." Sara said.

When they were alone again, Sara smiled. "Now where was I?" She
asked.

"I think you were about to tell me what you couldn't wait to do."
Catherine said in a low, husky voice.

"I think I'll wait to show you instead of ruining the surprise."

"You tease." Catherine kidded.

"I should let you get some sleep Sara. The doctor scheduled surgery
for 6am tomorrow."

"Please stay with me tonight Catherine. I don't want to be alone."

"Certainly. The nurses around here know me well enough by now not to
try and tell me to leave. I will be right here waiting for you after
surgery."

"I'll count on that Cath."

Catherine kissed Sara again, trying not to let either of them get too
worked up. She stroked Sara's hair, relaxing her enough that she
fell asleep.

Morning came much too early for the both of them. The nurse came in
at 5am to get Sara ready.

"Ok Sara. It's time to get you ready. How are you feeling?" The
nurse asked as she charted Sara's vitals.

"Scared. Anxious. Worried." Sara replied.

"You'll do just fine Sara. You'll be up walking around in no time."
The nurse encouraged.

"Catherine, why don't you go get some coffee or something in the
cafeteria. She will be in surgery at least three hours. I'll have
them page you when she's done."

"Ok. You be strong Sara. I'll be waiting for you." Catherine said
as she kissed Sara's hand and left the room. She watched from down
the hall as the orderlies pushed Sara's bed to the operating room.

Catherine spent the next two and a half hours in the cafeteria,
trying to wait patiently. Each time the loud speaker came on she got
anxious. She had finally managed to find a seat in the corner next
to the elevators when Dr. Mathis found her.

"How's she doing?" Catherine asked.

"She pulled through nicely. The bullet has been removed and I knew
you would need it for your investigation so I put it in a baggie for
you." He said handing the bag to her.

"Thank you thank you thank you." Catherine said.

"She will be in recovery for at least an hour. You can see her after
that. She will be pretty groggy."

"When will she start physical therapy?" Catherine asked.

"We need to let the incision heal before we start that. I'd say
maybe another week. If she starts to feel her legs again we can
certainly encourage her to move her feet and legs, but as far as a
strict program we need to wait."

"Wait a minute; you said `if' she starts to feel her legs. I thought
there wasn't any damage to the spine or nerves." Catherine asked.

"There is always the chance that the nerve damage will be permanent.
But Sara is a very healthy young woman. I see no reason for her not
to regain use of her legs. It may take a very very long time
though. I don't want anybody to think she will be up and walking
around anytime in the next few weeks. A realistic goal of her being
completely independent and mobile would be closer to three months,
minimum."

"Oh. Ok. That's nice to know, although I'd hate to be in the room
when you tell her that." Catherine chuckled.

"She will be moved back to her room in about an hour. You can go
wait for her there if you like."

"Thank you doctor." Catherine walked outside long enough to leave
Gil a message on his cell phone.

"I have the bullet. She made it through surgery just fine, but the
doctor said it would be at least three months before she was
independent and completely mobile. See you after court."

Catherine walked back in the hospital and headed straight for the
gift shop. She couldn't decide on one bouquet of flowers, so she
bought all three and a rather large teddy bear and hauled them up to
Sara's room.

The orderlies wheeled Sara back into her room and the nurse checked
all her vitals once more before leaving them alone. Catherine knew
Sara would still be asleep, but she pulled a chair up next to her bed
anyway and began stroking her hair. She mumbled something in her
sleep, and then a huge smile spread across her face. Whatever she
was dreaming of it was a good thing. Catherine laid her head down next to Sara.

***