Title : Little Girl Lost
Author : Melanie
Summary : When Catherine's daughter is kidnapped, she finds comfort
in a unlikely place and Sara finally opens up. Sara/Catherine
Disclaimer : I'm just borrowing. All characters and everything else
CSI belongs to Jerry Bruckheimer and CBS.
Rating : Definitely hard R for language and some naughty behavior…NC-
17 to be safe?
Feedback : Always welcome. Fivebyfive13
Archive : Ask me and it's yours :)
Author's Note : I've read some different accounts of both Sara and
Catherine's pasts on the web and they all tend to be different. So,
I've molded their pasts into what fits with the story. There are
some things that I know to be accurate from watching the show and
some things I am merely speculating on. It's all for the
fanfiction :) Enjoy.



The bright Vegas lights glittered off in the distance as cameras
clicked feverishly capturing the details of the latest and very
fresh mountain crime scene. CSI 2 Sara Sidle kicked absentmindedly
at a small rock and tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear
before putting on her latex gloves with a resounding snap. After
pulling three double shifts in a row, she was tired. The bags under
her eyes were more than evident and her shirt was untucked and
hanging loose on one side. She wanted to go home, but was only
about halfway through her shift for that night at roughly three in
the morning. The crime scene that awaited her attention was less of
a crime scene and more of a scene from `When Animals Attack". She
just wanted to go home and go to sleep and continue to avoid the
world as it was. Scuffing the heels of her black boots on the loose
dirt at her feet, she turned back to the scene and her superior, Gil
Grissom, and resumed her task of collecting the evidence.

"You look tired," Grissom said addressing the young woman crouching
down on the opposite side of the newly deceased.

"You're observant," Sara replied. "What do we have here?" she
asked, wanting to get the night over with so she could crawl into
her nice warm bed.

"White male, early thirties," he began, "or what's left of him." He
motioned with latex covered gloves to the man's face, torso, and
arm.

"He's missing an arm," Sara observed pointing to the bloody and
ragged stump that was left on the right side of the victim's body.

"He sure is," Grissom replied with a smirk.

"Have we found it yet?"

"Not as of this moment."

"Grissom, why are we still here?" Sara asked, her annoyance and
irritability starting to take over her mood and body.

"We're collecting the evidence, Sara," he answered simply.

"Come on. It's so blatantly obvious what happened here. Some wild
animal, probably a wolf or hyena, caught this poor guy by surprise
and had a little party with some of his buddies," she retorted in a
sullen tone.

"The evidence is what tells the story. You know that," Grissom
emphasized as he pushed up to a standing position using his
knees. "The first question we need to address is why he was out
here in the first place in the cold wearing nothing more than a
sweatshirt."

They stumbled around the crime scene for a few minutes. Grissom
poked through the man's pockets with the end of a pen, squinting
every now and again like he usually did when the gears in his head
were turning. Sara pretended to be looking through the evidence
when the only thing she was really thinking about was a warm bath
and cup of coffee from Starbucks. She was about to throw another
quasi fit when she noticed torn purple shreds still attached to the
victim's wrist. She knelt down and gently pushed up the cuff of his
sweatshirt revealing what looked like a bracelet made of purple
nylon or synthetic fibers.

"Grissom, look at this," Sara said motioning for him to come over.

"Bracelet?" he asked, kneeling beside her. She shook her head in
response.

"Dog leash," she answered.

"So where's Fido?" Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sara got to her feet and looked around with quick, wide eyes. She
noticed a blood trail leading into some thick brush at one edge of
the path. Grissom followed as she walked gingerly to the red specks
all but camouflaged by the wind blown dust and dirt. Pulling back
the small green shrubbery, Sara nearly threw up when the remains of
the victim's dog were displayed. She backed away, bumping into
Grissom who steadied her and then proceeded to check out the carnage
himself.

"Look's like the same bite marks as the vic," he confirmed. "Of
course we'll still have to get everything analyzed. Are you okay,
Sara?" he asked with a concerned voice as he turned to her.

"Yeah, I'm fine," she answered, slightly embarrassed by her display
of weakness. She had never gotten sick at a crime scene and she
wasn't about to start now. But something had changed inside of her
the past couple months and her work just wasn't as important as it
once had been. There was something missing in her life and she
wasn't sure what exactly that was. Suddenly there was a howl and the
rustle of leaves in the distance.

"What was that?" Sara asked once she regained her composure.

"There's only one way to find out," Grissom answered, pulling out
his gun and following the noise further and further into the thick
brush.

Sara was fast on his heels, gun also out and senses on heightened
overdrive. About two hundred feet later they spotted their culprit,
a rather large and mean looking hyena who at the moment was bearing
blood soaked teeth. They both pointed their guns at the animal at
the same moment and with a loud howl the hyena retreated into the
woods as fast as his legs would take him.

"Get on the radio and call animal control," Grissom said over his
shoulder to Sara. "Tell them to get out here as fast as they can
and to be looking for a light colored hyena with a black patch over
his left eye."

"You saw all that in the darkness?" she asked pulling her radio out
from its rig on her waist.

"I eat lots of greens," he answered with his signature sarcasm.
Grissom continued to peruse through the scene they had just stumbled
upon while Sara put in a call to animal control. She was just
shutting off her two way when Grissom's voice caught her attention
once more.

"Whoa, jackpot," he said crouching down near a spot in the brush
that was clear.

"What is it?" Sara asked, trudging over to where he was.

"A massive pile of evidence," Grissom answered pointing to a fresh
mound of hyena excrement.

"You're sick."

"I may just be," he said with a smile. "Why don't you collect the
evidence while I go talk to Brass," he added and then walked past
Sara and back out to he clearing.

"You've got to be kidding me," she whispered to herself as she bent
down to collect a nice healthy sample. "Fucking poop," she said
aloud, "can my night please get any worse." Be careful what you
wish for, Sidle, she thought to herself as she scraped foul smelling
hyena feces into a small container.

***********************

Catherine Willows rubbed at her sleepy eyes and grabbed her crime
scene kit out of the passenger seat of the large Chevy Blazer. The
CSI 3's feet hit the pavement with a thud and as she walked over to
the scene ahead of her she quickly turned her head to crack her sore
neck. The air was cool on the part of her chest that was bare above
her lavender button down shirt and she was thankful for it. It was
usually still hot in the Las Vegas desert, even at three am.

"I'm sorry Miss, can I help you?" a young officer asked as Catherine
approached the crime scene.

"Catherine Willows, Las Vegas Crime Lab," she offered, flashing her
ID and a wide smile. "You can help me by stepping aside and taking
control of that crowd forming over there, kiddo," she added as he
moved out of her way.

"Yes, ma'am. Right away," he said retaliating to the crowd near the
edge of the street.

"Hey Cath," was the greeting she got once she pushed past the yellow
tape. Nick Stokes, young and boyishly handsome was on his knees
near the body of an apparent homicide victim sprawled lazily in the
parking lot of the local Quick-E-Mart.

"What do we got, Nick?" she inquired, setting down her case.

"Three gunshot wounds," he answered. "One to the back of the head,
two to the chest," he said, looking up to her.

"Witnesses?"

"Owner of the convenience store saw everything. He was outside
smoking a cigarette when it happened."

"He give a statement?" Catherine asked, crouching down to get a
better look at the victim's wounds.

"He's just finishing up over there," Nick answered, pointing across
the lot to a squad car. Standing in front of it were an officer
writing feverishly and a heavy man in blue jeans and a polo shirt.

"Twenty-two?" she asked motioning to the bullet wounds.

"My guess too. Apparently the perp's already been picked up less
than three blocks away outside of Excalibur," Nick offered,
finishing up with the evidence and returning to a standing
position. He took his hat off to wipe the sweat off his brow and
replaced it once again.

"So what happened?" Catherine asked, standing also.

"This guy had just bought a couple scratch tickets and a six pack
and was on his way back to his car when a guy on a bike side swiped
him and knocked him over. The guy then proceeded to pop him twice
in the chest, take his wallet, his booze, and anything else of
value. Then while he was down, shot him once more in the back of
the head for good measure I guess and took off again on his bike.
Owner called the cops right after the guy let off the first two
shots."

"Open and shut," Catherine said retrieving her gear and motioning
for cleanup to get started.

"As long as our witness doesn't reneg," Nick said. "Let's get out
of here," he added, lightly touching Catherine's shoulder as he
began walking towards the Blazer. They were about halfway there
when her cell phone rang breaking the cool silence of the early
morning.

"Willows," she said flipping the phone open and continuing to walk.
As soon as the voice on the other end began to speak, she stopped
dead in her tracks. "What? Eddie, slow down." Her bag dropped to
the ground with a loud crash and she felt like her legs were going
to give out. Nick stopped and turned around with concern etched
across his face.

"Eddie, no. Oh God," she breathed out, panic filling her entire
body.

"Catherine, what is it?" Nick asked and was answered with
Catherine's hand clutching tightly at the sleeve of his forensics
jacket.

"Did you call the police? No, I'll do it right now. Oh, God.
Christ," she continued, closing her eyes tightly. "Just stay where
you are. I'll meet you there."

She flashed her eyes at Nick quickly before hanging up and pulling
out her two way. When she flipped it onto the correct channel, she
spoke slowly and clearly, still holding onto Nick for support, his
eyes wide with confusion.

"This is Catherine Willows, Vegas Crime Lab. I need police
assistance at 632 North August Ave. Apartment 8c. My daughter's
missing. Possibly a kidnapping," she said firmly and then dropped
her radio and fell forward, allowing Nick to catch her.

***********************

"Got some results for me, Greg?" Sara asked as she sauntered into
the lab eliciting a wide grin from the young man seated at his desk.

"You mean, the poop?" he asked with a laugh. "You look like crap
yourself, by the way," he added turning back to look into his
microscope for a second before grabbing a printout and looking it
over.

"Thanks, chachi," she commented with a scowl as she pulled the rest
of her shirt out of her black pants and proceeded to unbutton it
while stepping forward to look over Greg's shoulder. "DNA match?"

"Dead on," he answered, forcing himself not to look back for fear
that he might pass out at the close proximity of Sara to himself.
His crush just about consumed him. "Vic's DNA is all over this
guy's crap. Some canine hairs too. Went through your hyena like
lightning though. Must not have agreed with him so much."

"Great," she said snatching the report out of his hands. "Thanks,
Greg," she added as he turned to face her. The sight of her in a
tank top nearly sent him off his chair and to the floor.

"Sure, anytime," he answered slowly. "Hey Sara, you think maybe…"

"Sara, I need you in the break room," Grissom yelled at her back as
he jogged down the hall quickly towards her and turned the corner
fast. "Now!" he commanded when she looked at him confused.

Sara turned to look at Greg, who was equally confused, and took off
down the hallway. Greg followed her swiftly, bumping into the glass
doorframe on his way out. Sara bounded through the door to the
break room to be greeted by Nick and Grissom standing near the
counter and Catherine pacing back and forth nervously. She looked
up when Sara entered the room, making eye contact for a moment, her
face slightly cracking. Catherine's face was tear stained and
drawn, her hands were shaking slightly as she was wringing them out
in front of her. Sara felt her heart start to break, not exactly
knowing why. Maybe it was just a girl thing, but Sara had the
sudden urge to hurry across the room and take Catherine in her arms.

"Where's Warrick?" Grissom asked as Greg bounded into the room
behind Sara almost bumping flat into her.

"Visiting his sister in Orange County," Nick answered, running a
hand through his short hair.

"What's going on?" Sara pointed her question at Grissom after
tearing her eyes away from Catherine's distraught form.

"Catherine's daughter is missing," he stated sadly, taking his
glasses off for a moment to rub at the bridge of his nose.

"What?!" Sara said loudly.

Grissom and Nick looked at their shoes in frustration as Sara glided
across the room and placed a hand on Catherine's shoulder from
behind. She felt the older woman relax and lean backward slightly.
Sara brought her other hand up to her other shoulder to balance
Catherine out, feeling as though her friend needed all the support
she could get.

"What happened?" she asked softly.

"She was at Eddie's for the night. He says he went downstairs for a
second because he had a fight with this week's girlfriend and when
he got back to the apartment, she was gone," Catherine answered, her
voice weak and drained. Sara's hands began to go stiff at the
mention of Catherine's ex's irresponsible behavior. She leaned
forward and spoke close to Catherine's ear.

"Do you want to sit down?"

"No," Catherine answered, shaking her head. "I just need to uh…"
she trailed off as the tears began to form once again and she tried
to force them back but failed. "I, um…I…goddamnit," she finished
softly, her shoulders rising and falling swiftly. She brought a
hand to cover her face as she sobbed.

Sara gripped her shoulders tighter and moved forward so she was
almost flush up against Catherine's back. She shot a glance at
Grissom and their eyes connected quickly, her message getting
across. Seconds later, Grissom motioned for Greg and Nick to follow
him out of the room and closed the door behind them quietly. When
Catherine heard the door click shut, she turned and leaned her head
against Sara's shoulder, arms gripping the back of the younger
woman's cotton shirt tightly. Sara adjusted her arms to envelope
the smaller woman in a firm embrace and held her tightly. As
Catherine's sobs got more fierce and her arms flexed stronger, Sara
could do nothing more than hold on with all her strength and lightly
stroke the blonde hair falling across her forearm. She couldn't
think of a thing to say that wouldn't sound ridiculous or practiced
so she didn't say anything at all. Catherine pulled back suddenly
and wiped at her eyes with the sleeve of her suit jacket.

"I'm sorry," she said with a slight laugh. "I'm such a mess right
now."

"It's okay," Sara answered, gripping Catherine's hands tightly in
her own. She motioned for them to sit at the table and pulled
Catherine with her, each of them taking a chair next to the other.

"God, what am I going to do?" Catherine said, running a hand through
her hair.

"We're going to find her," Sara said firmly, forcing Catherine to
look her in the eyes.

"I can't believe this is happening."

"I know, but we'll figure it out," Sara said determined. "I bet
Grissom already has like nine hundred leads," she added lightly
causing Catherine to smile a bit. They looked at each other for a
moment, Sara promising Catherine things with her eyes that she was
unable to express with words. A knock on the glass broke their
moment. Catherine looked up to see Eddie motioning her to come out
and talk to him.

"I'm gonna grab some coffee," Sara said as they both got up. "You
want a cup?"

"Yeah, that would be great," Catherine answered as she walked
towards the door.

"I'm right here if you need anything," Sara said, Catherine turning
around to meet her eyes.

"Thanks," she said with a smile and then she was out in the hallway
with her ex-husband, who was pacing but looking too calm for a man
who had just potentially lost his daughter.

"Jesus, Eddie, how could you let this happen?" She said attacking
him at the first chance she got. But he needed to hear it.

"Excuse me? How could I let this happen?" he raised his voice
defensively. "Maybe if you weren't working sixteen hours a day and
were at home with our daughter, she wouldn't be gone."

"One of us has to work to support that little girl, Eddie. And
you're too busy doing anything else that doesn't require exerting
energy," Catherine said, advancing on him with her finger pointed at
him.

"Screw you, Catherine. You don't know anything about me."

"I know that two things matter to you: money and a warm place to
stick your dick," she said angrily. "Maybe if you weren't always
chasing your next piece of ass, our daughter would rate higher on
your list of important things."

"Oh that's rich coming from a whore who used to take her clothes off
for money," he shot back at her.

"Have you forgotten that's where you met me?" she slid at him, anger
spreading across her face.

"I guess I should have known right then it was a mistake, but hey
didn't take me that long to get into your pants so I stand by my
initial response."

"You're a loser, Eddie. You always have been and you always will
be," Catherine said firmly, inching even closer to him so that they
were only centimeters apart. "If you want to know who the fool is
in this relationship, you're looking at her. I never should have
sunk down to the level of getting involved with the likes of you."

Eddie moved swiftly and roughly and in seconds had reversed their
positions. Catherine was pinned up against the wall behind her, her
ex-husband gripping her shoulders with hard, firm hands. She was
waiting for him to strike out when she saw Sara throw an arm up
under Eddie's right arm trying to pull him back. It almost worked
and Sara was a bit surprised when she got a hard elbow to the right
temple that sent her stumbling backward and almost falling to the
floor. Blood trickled into her eye, but she managed to get back to
her feet just in time to see Eddie's hand pulled back ready to
strike out at the small woman in front of him. Quickly she reached
out and grabbed his arm before it had started moving forward and was
pleasantly surprised at the click of Catherine's gun being cocked
and shoved up under the chin of the large man in front of her.

"You don't want to do this, Eddie," she said firmly, pressing the
gun harder against his flesh. "Go home and sit by the phone in case
she calls or someone calls or whatever. And the cops are going to
be there for a while so don't do anything stupid," she said, pulling
the gun away and motioning for Sara to let go of his arm. He
scowled at her and walked down the hall towards the exit not looking
back.

Catherine set the gun back in the holster on her hip and immediately
went to Sara's side. She placed a hand on the younger woman's face
and turned it up to examine the wound.

"Let me see," she commanded in a motherly tone. Sara winced when
Catherine's hand touched near her fresh wound. "Jesus, Sara, I'm so
sorry," she said realizing that she was genuinely hurt. It was a
little more than a scrape.

"Don't worry about it," Sara answered, acting tough. "Besides, I
don't get down with that whole violence against women shit."

"No kidding," Catherine said with a smile. "Come on, the least I
can do is clean this up for you."

"No, I'm all right. You should be out there working the case or
something," Sara said quickly, waving Catherine off with her hand.

"Grissom said he'd page me when he was about to hit the streets,"
she answered, taking Sara's hand and leading her down the hallway
towards her office. "You don't have to be the tough girl all the
time, you know?"

"Does hurt like fucking hell," Sara said with a slight smile,
realizing she liked the feeling of her hand in Catherine's a little
too much.

***********************

Sara winced as Catherine wiped at the gash above her right eye with
a cotton swab drenched in alcohol. She hoped that it wouldn't
bruise or swell too much and was wondering why she had put herself
in that position in the first place. No, there wasn't really any
question why she had defended Catherine. It was just her nature,
part of her vow to uphold the law or something. Yeah, right.

"Sorry," Catherine offered as Sara continued to flinch underneath
her gentle hands. "Bull in a china shop, huh?"

"Not at all," Sara answered. "I'm just hoping I don't have this
huge puffed out eye in the morning…or afternoon as it may be," she
added noticing the digital clock on the desk she was now sitting was
reading a shiny red 6:54. So much for a day off.

"Well, I suggest a lot of ice and possibly a trip to the ER to make
sure nothing's broken," Catherine said as he focused on cleaning the
wound.

"It's not that bad, Catherine," Sara replied.

"I'm sorry, Doctor Sidle. I had no idea you had recently gotten
your PhD," Catherine joked as she dropped the fifth blood soaked
cotton ball in the trash basket.

"This isn't the first time I've been hit in the face," Sara
admitted, turning her eyes to the floor. "After the third or fourth
time you tend to become an expert in the subtle difference between
bruises and fractures."

"Well, you're definitely starting to bruise I'm sorry to say,"
Catherine said not knowing whether she should breech the subject the
younger woman had just touched upon. She rustled around her desk
and had finally had her fingers wrapped around a large Band-Aid when
she felt strong hands fall upon either side of her waist. Sara
finally raised her dark eyes up to connect with the blue ones before
her and spoke more quietly than Catherine had ever heard before.

"Don't ever let anyone put their hands on you because you're so much
better than that," she said with a sadness in her voice that has
almost heartbreaking.

"What happened to you?" Catherine asked, pushing a stray piece of
dark hair out of Sara's eyes and tucking it behind an ear.

"We've all got a past. Mine's slightly more colorful than most.
Although by the looks of it, you've probably got some stories of
your own."

"You show me yours, I'll show you mine," Catherine responded, her
voice just above a whisper, as she leaned in so close that Sara
could feel her warm breath nearing her face. Sara was about to open
her mouth in some form of a response when a loud beeping elicited
slight laughter and the aversion of eye from both women. Both women
reached for their pagers at the same time and clicked them off
quickly.

"Grissom," they said at the same time and rushed out of the office
and down the hallway to meet up with the others.

***********************

"What the hell happened to your eye?" Nick asked motioning to the
large bandage covering the right side of Sara's temple.

"Eddie," Catherine answered for her, all eyes turning to look at her.

"How are you holding up?" Grissom asked.

"I'll be a lot better once you tell me what you've got."

"The officers watching Eddie's apartment noticed a large, muscular
guy enter about an hour ago," Grissom answered. "Apparently there
was a lot of yelling, some crashing noises and then Eddie was alone
again."

"So what are we thinking?" Sara asked, searching around the break
room for some painkillers. Greg tapped her on the shoulder and held
out four ibuprofen in one palm and Sara smiled after she accepted
them.

"That fucking bastard," Catherine said loudly slamming her hand down
on the counter with a slap.

"Catherine," Grissom said softly as he placed a hand on her forearm.

"No," she yelled, shaking of Grissom's hand and apologizing with her
eyes immediately. "He knows exactly what's going on. He got
himself into some trouble and whoever's feet he's stepping on took
Lindsey as collateral. I'm going to fucking kill him," she added as
she quickly tried to make her way to the door. Sara reached out and
caught Catherine by the wrist, holding onto her too tightly.

"Sara," Catherine warned, her eyes cold and threatening.

"Catherine," Sara replied just as harsh, feeling blood run down past
her bandage but not moving to stop it. "I'm coming with you," she
stated more than asked. Catherine's eyes softened a bit as
Grissom's cell phone rang and he picked it up quickly. Four sets of
eyes settled on him hopefully.

"That was Brass. They've got Eddie's little friend in custody over
at a motel near the strip. So far there's no sign of Lindsey, but
they're holding him for questioning," he said once he had hung up
the phone. "It's your call, Catherine."

"You and Nick go meet Brass. I want to go talk to Eddie."

"Do you really think that's the best idea?" he asked, raising an
eyebrow and hoping to get her to think more clearly.

"I'll take care of her Grissom," Sara interjected. "You know I
won't let anything get out of hand," she added and he reluctantly
gave into her.

"What about me?" Greg called after four retreating figures.

"Stay here in case anyone calls," Grissom called to him over his
shoulder. The young man smiled with pride feeling like he was
finally becoming part of the team.

***********************

"You know your eye's still bleeding," Catherine stated as she
flashed her badge at the uniformed cop standing in the lobby of
Eddie's apartment building.

"Thanks, Mom. I noticed," Sara answered with a crooked smile as she
wiped at the blood seeping out from under the confines of the
bandage placed tightly against her temple.

They made their way up two flights of stairs and Catherine was about
to place her hand on the door to the third floor when Sara placed a
hand on her arm stopping her.

"What?" Catherine asked, more than ready to bust down Eddie's door
and stick her gun in his face.

"I just want to make sure that you're not going to go in there all
crazy and do something stupid," Sara answered dropping her hand.

"Not me," Catherine replied sarcastically and ripped open the door
and swiftly walked through it and down the hall to her destination.

"Catherine," Sara warned following after her closely.

Catherine didn't bother knocking before she pushed the door to
Eddie's apartment open. It was dark and smelled like booze and
sex. She silently chastised herself for ever getting involved with
such a lowlife and for letting her daughter spend any time over
there. It didn't take long for them to stumble upon the sole person
that resided at the unseelie den. Eddie was sitting in almost pitch
blackness, a cigarette burning in one hand and a bottle of Wild
Turkey in the other.

"Oh, this is just perfect," Catherine said angrily as Eddie turned
to look at her.

"Ever hear of knocking?" he retorted with a snort as he took a swig
of whiskey.

"What the fuck are you doing, Eddie?" Catherine asked as she plucked
the cigarette out of his hand and took a long drag before dropping
it to the linoleum floor and grinding it out under one thick black
boot heel. Sara looked around the apartment for a second noticing
nothing out of the ordinary before taking up her position behind the
shorter woman.

"Thinking."

"About what? How you've made the ultimate fuck up this time?"

"What are you talking about?" he asked defensively, fear creeping
into his eyes.

"Did you think we wouldn't find out what's going on?" Catherine
accused, feeling her blood pressure rise. "I know you're in trouble
Eddie. I just can't believe you dragged your own daughter into your
mess this time," she shouted advancing on him with her hand resting
on her gun.

"Oh God, Catherine, I'm so fucking sorry," he cried, running a hand
over the stubble on his face before rocking forward and burying his
head in his hands.

"How long were you going to go on like you had no idea what happened
before letting us in on some vital information that would have
helped us find Lindsey, Eddie?" she continued to barrade him while
he was beginning to shake.

"What do you want me to say?" he shouted, pushing to his feet
quickly. The bottle dropped to the floor with a loud crash as he
rose up to his full height and towered over her. "I fucked up,
okay?"

Sara made a quick decision and walked forwards quickly and smoothly
and managed to place herself in between the two ex-lovers. She
faced Catherine and forced her to look her in the face as she raised
a hand up in a `truce' signal and spoke firmly.

"Ease up. We're not going to get anywhere just screaming at each
other," she pleaded with Catherine, who could have burned a hole in
the wall with her eyes. She turned to Eddie and spoke just as
firmly. "Sit down and tell us everything that happened." When he
remained standing and trying to look over Sara's height to his ex-
wife, Sara put a hand on his shoulder and forced him down
slightly. "Sit," she commanded, her other hand playing at the gun
on her waist. When he saw the motion, he complied and slumped back
in his chair. Sara turned back to Catherine and nodded slightly
before stepping aside.

"I made a bet and I lost," Eddie admitted. "I can't afford to be
late with this payment again."

"How much?" Catherine asked angrily.

"It was an entirely safe bet. I just can't…"

"How much, Eddie?!?" Catherine shouted. Sara stepped closer to the
older woman and put a hand on her lower back in a supportive fashion.

"Quarter of a million."

Catherine turned on her heels at this damaging admission and slammed
her right foot into the floor. She pinched at the bridge of her
nose as her brows furrowed in frustration. Sara moved her hand to
Catherine's shoulder as she interrogated Eddie for herself.

"How late are you?"

"Couple days."

"Why didn't they just come after you?"

"They did. Just so happened Lindsey was here. Bad timing," he said
sadly.

"You bastard," Catherine said fiercely turning around. "You just
let them take her?"

"What was I supposed to do?" he asked loudly. "They're not going to
hurt her. There's too much money on the line for that."

"Too much money you don't have," Catherine screamed at him as her
blood began to boil.

"I'll get it. I'm not going to let them hurt her, Cath."

"How long do you have?" Sara asked, feeling her head begin to pound.

"Forty-eight hours."

"Who, Eddie?" Catherine demanded.

"What, so your cop buddies can go bust in there and get us all
killed?" Eddie replied harshly.

"No, Eddie. So I can go over there and save my daughter."

"Our daughter," he corrected her.

"We'll see about that after this is all over with," she replied,
hands on her hips. "Give me a name, Eddie. Or I'll have Sara take
you down to the station and you can answer some questions there."
Sara went along with her partner and made it evident that her hand
was now resting on her cold, metal handcuffs.

"I don't know where they took her, Cath."

"Give me a fucking name, Eddie. Now."

"Remo Mitchell," he said reluctantly. "That's who I made the bet
with."

"Where can I find him?"

"Bright Lights Motel. Near the strip," he answered.

"Let's go," Catherine said to Sara before turning back to
Eddie. "Don't you fucking move. You can do whatever the hell you
like after we find Lindsey. But for now you sit there. I could
give a shit if they come over here and rip your fingernails out one
at a time, you son of a bitch."

"Catherine, they'll kill me," he pleaded.

"And if you leave this apartment, I'll kill you," she answered just
before Sara cupped a hand under her elbow and led her out of the
apartment and into the cool hallway.

***********************

Jim Brass unbuttoned the front of his suit coat and placed his hand
on the standard issue Glock nine-millimeter at his side. When
Grissom and Nick, along with three other uniformed cops, had arrived
behind him in front of room sixteen he cleared his throat and
knocked loudly.

"Vegas PD, open up," he at the closed door.

Nick flanked out to Brass' left side, the three uniforms to the
right. Grissom stayed behind Brass, his LVPD baseball hat pulled
tightly onto his head. They heard a rustling on the other side of
the door and all at once drew their weapons and readied themselves
for any danger. The door creaked open, a dimly lit motel room in
the backdrop. A muscular man wearing black slacks and a tight
fitting white tank top was wiping at his eyes and squinting into the
outside light when he realized there were six guns pointed at him.
His arms immediately raised above his head, flexing thick biceps and
the three or four tattoos they housed.

"Remo Mitchell?" Brass asked, gun still firmly in his hands.

"Depends on who's asking," the man answered in a smart tone,
smirking.

"Jim Brass, Las Vegas Police," he introduced himself, putting his
gun in its holster and flashing his badge.

"What do you want?" Remo asked, his arms returning to his sides
slowly. Brass motioned for his men to put up their guns and they
obliged. Grissom looked over Brass shoulder with a stone face.

"We need to ask you some questions," Brass answered in a flat tone.

"Bout what?"

"A little bet you went to collect on a couple hours ago."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Remo answered, running a
hand through dark, tousled hair.

"Maybe a trip down to the station could refresh your memory,"
Grissom interjected from his stance behind Brass.

"Yeah, I'd bet they'd love to run your name for warrants pal," Brass
added with a smile. Remo crossed his arms over his chest and
scowled. "Start talking," Brass demanded while Nick moved back near
Grissom.

"Eddie made a bet and he lost. It's my job that he understands he
needs to pay," Remo stated flatly.

"And the girl?" Nick asked, anger evident in his voice. "What's she
got to do with all this?"

"Hey man, that wasn't my idea," Remo answered defensively holding up
his hands. "Eddie owes a shitload of money. The boss looks kindly
on a little collateral."

"And who's the boss?" Brass asked.

"Nah, for that you're gonna have to arrest me first."

Grissom advanced on the bookie and grabbed him by the front of his
flimsy tank top. He moved in close so his breath was hot on the
other man's face. Brass thought he would let Grissom browbeat the
man for a few minutes.

"There's an innocent little girl in danger right now," he said
loudly. "Her mother just happens to work for the Vegas PD which
means that we're not going to stop harassing you until we find her.
Now you can tell us where she is or we can become a permanent stick
up your ass. Your choice," he finished, letting go of the shirt and
stepping back a few feet.

"Eddie didn't say nothing about his old lady being a cop," Remo
said, sudden fear showing on his face.

"Not knowing a thing about your customers must be an occupational
hazard in your field," Grissom said sarcastically.

"Where's the girl?" Brass demanded.

"She's not here," Remo replied quickly, running his hands up and
down his arms. Grissom caught the flash of a large, distinct gold
and ruby ring on his left hand. He remembered it from somewhere but
he couldn't quite place it.

"Then you won't mind if we look around," Brass suggested motioning
for the occupant to let them in.

"Got a warrant?" Remo asked, blocking his way.

"Where is she?" Nick yelled, stepping in front of Brass. "It would
be conducive to your good health to tell us right now," he
threatened.

"You want anything else and you're going to have to take me downtown
where I'll be more than happy to answer any questions you have…with
my lawyer present," Remo said with a smile.

"You're making a big mistake," Nick said, hand on his holster.
Brass grabbed his shoulder and pulled him back.

"We'll be back with a warrant and a car to take you to the station.
In the meantime, these nice officers will be watching every move you
make so feel free to relax but don't even think about going
anywhere," Brass said, motioning to the three uniforms on his
right. They nodded in understanding. "And by the way, do you know
how long scums like you go away for kidnapping?"

"What are you talking about? Kidnapping?" Remo asked, surprised.

"That's what they call it when you take a little girl against her
will and hold her for ransom," Grissom said smugly. Remo merely
chuckled and shook his head.

"There's something you might want to know about Eddie and his
financial hardships," he commented. "Nobody took that girl against
his will."

"What are you talking about?" Nick asked.

"I was supposed to go over there and bloody him up a little. You
know, give him some incentive to get his payment in on time," Remo
explained. "I'm about ready to pound his ass when he offers me
another deal. Says to take his kid as insurance and give him
another two days to get the cash. There was no kidnapping. He
packed the girl's bag for her and walked her down to the car."

"Your car?" Brass asked as Nick and Grissom stood there, mouths
agape.

"Boss' car."

"Where'd they take her?" Grissom asked, when he finally found his
voice.

"Dunno. Probably one of the casinos."

"And if Eddie doesn't come up with the money, then what? They're
going to kill her?" Nick asked.

"Not when there's money to be made," Remo answered, starting to
close the door.

"Money to be made how?" Nick demanded, sticking his foot in the door
to stop it from closing.

"Eddie owes about two hundred thousand dollars. Killing the girl
isn't going to make the money appear," Remo replied. "But in this
business you come across some not so moral individuals. The kind
that wouldn't mind parting with that kind of dough for purchasing
the company of a young, underage girl."

"You're going to sell her as a sex slave?!?" Nick exclaimed. "She's
seven years old."

"Hey not me, man. That's not my bag," Remo said finally closing the
door.

"We'll be back," Brass yelled through the door before the three men
headed towards their cars. "What do you think?" he asked Grissom.

"There's what two major gambling bosses in Vegas?" he asked. Brass
nodded. "And the ring on his left hand is some sort of membership
gift. You know, to distinguish who's gang he's running with. We
just need to find out whom and go right to the source."

"You don't think he knows where she is?" Nick asked.

"I didn't say that," Grissom answered. "Brass, you come back with a
warrant and get him down to the station for questioning. She's not
here, but I'll bet he knows where we can find her. In the meantime,
Nick and I will try and figure out who he's working for."

"And Catherine?" Nick asked. Grissom shook his head and sighed.

***********************

Sara was driving the Blazer back to the crime lab when Catherine's
cell phone rang next to her. Catherine grabbed for it quickly and
flipped it open to her ear.

"Willows," she said wearily. "Hey Grissom. We were just there.
We're on our way back to the lab," she said into the mouthpiece as
Sara kept her eyes on the road.

"Listen, Eddie lost a bet and that's why they took Lindsey. What do
you mean, you know already? What? WHAT?!?" she said and seconds
later slammed the phone shut and turned to Sara who was staring back
at her with a `what's going on' expression on her face.

"Turn the car around," she demanded.

"What?" Sara asked, confused.

"Turn the car around now," she yelled, urging Sara with her voice as
well as her eyes to reverse their direction.

Sara didn't quite understand, but heard the urgency in Catherine's
voice. She pulled the wheel and kept her foot on the gas, turning
the car in the opposite direction with the screeching of tires and
thanked God that the streets were all but deserted that morning.

"Are you going to tell me what's going on?" she asked Catherine as
they flew down the street at an unhealthy speed.

"Grissom talked to Eddie's bookie," she said, with a detached voice
like she couldn't believe she was actually speaking…and speaking the
words she was about to say. "He gave them to her," she continued,
turning to look out the window as Sara's gaze shifted quickly to the
woman next to her that was in such agony. "He gave up his own
daughter to save his ass."


Minutes later, Sara slammed on the brakes outside Eddie's apartment
building and greeted the young officer watching guard. Catherine
jumped out of the large truck and ran up three flights of stairs
without taking a breath until she had knocked in Eddie's door and
was standing in the middle of his empty apartment. Sara emerged in
the room seconds later, nearly bumping into Catherine in the
process. She placed a hand on the older woman's shoulder before
pushing past her into the living room to find a cool breeze flying
in through an open window. She stuck her head out and saw the fire
escape ladder had been dropped to the ground.

"He's gone," she stated, turning back to Catherine, who looked about
ready to collapse. Sara was halfway across the room to her when her
cell phone rang.

"Sidle," she said into the receiver after she had stopped
momentarily to flip the phone open.

"Sara, it's Grissom," he said through the phone. "Where are you?"

"Eddie's apartment. He's gone," she replied.

"Shit," he said and covered the phone for a moment to address
Nick. "Nick, call Brass and tell him to put out an APB on Eddie.
He's on the run. Listen, Sara," he said turning his attention back
to the phone, "I want you to take Catherine back to your apartment
and get her to eat something and rest for a few hours. Brass is out
getting a warrant for Mitchell's room and Nick and I are onto a good
lead."

"Grissom, I feel like I should be out in the field helping," Sara
said quietly, turning away so Catherine couldn't hear her.

"You haven't slept in days and neither has Catherine. The best
thing you can do right now is get some rest. You're no help if
you're a walking zombie," he said sympathetically.

"You'll call as soon as anything happens?"

"You're the first on my list," he said with a smile. "And Sara, I
don't what we'd do without you," he added before hanging up the
phone.

"What is it?" Catherine asked anxiously as Sara turned back to her.

"That was Grissom. Come on," she said, slipping an arm around
Catherine's shoulders and walking her out of the apartment. "They
put an APB out on Eddie and Grissom said they've got some kind of
lead they're working on," she said as they walked down the stairs
and out to the car.

Once they were on their way back down the street, Catherine began
looking around confused.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"My apartment," Sara answered nervously, waiting for an explosion
from the woman seated next to her.

"What?" Catherine asked, turning to look at her.

"I'm on strict instructions to take you home, feed you, and force
you to sleep for a couple hours," she explained, eyes still focused
on the road.

"No, we have to get back to the lab. We…I have to…"

"Catherine," Sara said a notch louder than she had intended. She
placed her hand on Catherine's leg and turned to look at her as they
stopped at a red light. "Look at me," she said.

Catherine stared at the young woman seated in the driver's seat and
immediately noticed how drawn and tired she looked. Her eyes were
almost black with fatigue and she had the largest bags under them
she had seen recently when she wasn't looking back at herself in the
mirror. Sara's clothes were wrinkled and messy, her shirt untucked
on one side. Her hands were gripping the steering wheel loosely and
it highlighted the rugged bite marks on her fingernails and the
bleeding skin around them. The poor girl was whipped. But somehow
she was still going…she was still as strong as ever.

"You look like shit," Catherine commented with a laugh. It was the
exact response Sara was looking for.

"Yeah?" she answered, raising an eyebrow. "Well, you might as well
be looking in a mirror because you look just as bad," she added with
a smile of her own.

"Excuse me?" Catherine asked, mock astonished.

"You've been on just as many double shifts as me the past few weeks
if not more. We've been on now for over fifteen hours. We're not
made of steel, Cath," Sara said softly.

"But she's my daughter," Catherine said, tears forming in her
eyes. "I'm supposed to protect her."

"We're going to find her, Catherine. I promise you that," Sara said
firmly as she squeezed Catherine leg beneath her hand. Catherine
placed her hand on top of Sara's and looked out the window the rest
of the way to Sara's apartment.

***********************

"So basically I have a cabinet full of pasta, a freezer full of Ben
and Jerry's, and a fridge full of beer," Sara confessed as she and
Catherine walked into her apartment and straight down a small
hallway to a completely black marble kitchen. "And there's no meat
either…ever since Grissom and I did that whole pig experiment."

"Actually, a beer sounds pretty damn good right now," Catherine said
as she examined the apartment. "This place is mighty classy, kid,"
she added as she took in a fully furnished living room with a black
leather couch, fully stacked bookcases and a good sized television.

"Yeah, well my grandparents left me a nice sized trust fund when
they passed," Sara answered as she handed Catherine a Rolling Rock
and took a slug of her own.

"You never talk about your family. How come?" Catherine asked,
drinking half her bottle in two big gulps.

"Not much to say?" Sara tried to avoid the subject, but Catherine's
soft yet pressing eyes were asking kindly for a truthful
answer. "Not much to say that won't immediately provoke the pity
reflex?" she tried again.

"I see," Catherine responded. "I'm not going to press you, but I'm
here if you need to talk…and I'm interested."

"I've got a brother, older. He took off when he was sixteen," Sara
began, somehow feeling like she needed to tell the other woman about
where she came from…who she was. "Couldn't take my father smacking
my mother around anymore. And when the bastard starting in on me,
Stephen just bailed."

"Do you talk to him?" Catherine asked, deliberately not touching on
the abuse…knowing that Sara would talk about that more freely when
she was ready.

"All the time, actually," Sara answered, smiling. "He's a lawyer
now in Seattle and he's married. I try and see the kids whenever I
can."

"Kids?"

"Yeah, twin girls. Just about Lindsey's age now that I think of
it," she said without thinking. Catherine just continued to smile,
trying to force back the image of her daughter alone in a room
somewhere, blindfolded. "God, Catherine, I'm sorry," she apologized.

"Don't be. I'm kinda glad you're opening up. You're sort of an
enigma like that. We've been working together for almost two years
and I still feel like there are parts of you that you keep hidden
too well," Catherine confessed softly. "I always wondered what
thoughts were lurking behind those dark eyes."

"The kind that need years of therapy to surface," Sara replied with
a laugh, taking a drink of her beer when she caught her breath.

"You're father wasn't too loving I assume?"

"No he was loving all right. He just preferred to show that side of
himself with his fists," Sara admitted candidly. "My mother wasn't
exactly any better with the permanent haze she was always in. I
think she was happy when he'd hit on me instead because it would
give her a break from him. Anyway, needless to say we're not
close," she said shaking her head, trying to get the thoughts to go
away. "Bet you're sorry you asked now, huh?"

"Not at all," Catherine replied, smiling. "Hearing where you come
from, I even more proud of the person you've become. You're an
amazing CSI, Sara."

"Thank you," Sara said, her voice just above a whisper…her lungs
threatening to fail on her.

"How'd you get away from it?"

"Well, one night my senior year in High School," Sara began,
wondering if she would be able to get it all out. Wondering if
revealing this last bit about her life would send Catherine
screaming for help. "Um, my Dad wandered into the living room late
one night and found Stephanie Parker and I getting it on butt naked
on the floor," she finished, her eyes glassy over in remembrance.
She turned to gage Catherine's reaction and was pleased to see she
looked normal, but eager for Sara to continue.

"Naturally, he beat me so many colors I looked like a Crayola box
and told Stephanie never to show her face at my house again. Told
me I was the worst kind of sinner and I was going straight to Hell.
A couple weeks later, I graduated, got a full boat to college and
never looked back," Sara finished, smiling slightly. "Shocked?"

"Sara, you're talking to a woman who used to take her clothes off in
front of strangers for money," Catherine said, smiling. "I know a
thing or two myself about the ways of the woman," she added with a
knowing grin. Sara smiled to herself, but never the less looked
down suddenly self-conscious.

"So you're probably hungry," she suggested.

"Not really, but this is one of those situations where I'll have to
force myself in order to keep my strength up I guess," Catherine
answered truthfully.

"I know what you mean. I'll put on some pasta and you can watch tv
or something," Sara commented before walking back towards the
kitchen.

"Actually, I'd love a shower if that's okay," Catherine called after
her.

"Oh sure, no problem. I'd offer you some clothes, but you'd
probably have to roll the pant legs up a hundred times," Sara
said. "But I'll, um, bring you a tank top and a new shirt if you
like."

"That would be great," Catherine said. "The bathroom is where?"

"Down the hall over there, first door on the right," Sara said
pointing to another hallway off the living area. Catherine was on
her way when she turned around halfway to see Sara leaning over the
sink, filling a large pot with water.

"Sara?"

"Yeah," she answered, not turning around.

"Why are you doing all this?"

"I am the job, Catherine. I work sixteen hours a day because I want…
I need to help people."

"Is that all?" Catherine asked, feeling there was something lying
underneath the surface that was dying to get out. Sara thought for
a moment before answering. She still didn't turn around, afraid to
look at the older woman in the face.

"No one should have to suffer," she finally said. "Especially not
you. You're too good for that," she added, a hidden desire and
longing thrusting itself over the edge.

"I'm just like everyone else," Catherine said quietly, a smile
playing at her lips at Sara's seemingly wanting admission.

"No you're not," Sara replied, shaking her head. "You're different
than all the other cases I've ever worked. Maybe it's because I
care about you so much. Maybe it's because I know you'd do the same
for me," she said, transferring the pot to the stove and turning the
burner on.

"Thank you," Catherine said sincerely, still to Sara's back which
was rising and falling in exaggerated breaths. "And Sara?"

"Yeah?" she said, finally turning around to see Catherine's face
glowing with reverence and her eyes twinkling with an ignited
passion.

"Long legs are sexy," she stated flatly and turned to disappear down
the hallway and into the bathroom.

***********************

Over dinner, the two women tried their hand at small talk. Mostly
it ended up as fragmented silence in between bites of pasta. They
were sitting on stools at the kitchen counter since Sara didn't have
a kitchen table. She wasn't home enough, she said, or ever had
enough company to warrant a dining surface for more than one.

"So why don't you get out much?" Catherine asked, draining her
second beer. Sara thought for a second and looked back across the
counter into Catherine's inquisitive eyes.

"I don't know, really. I've never been an overly social person to
begin with," she replied, dropping her fork down quietly and
stepping off of her stool. She walked to the refrigerator and took
out two more beers before returning to the counter and depositing
one in front of Catherine.

"Lately, I think maybe it's because I see so much pain and people
getting hurt at the hands of other people out there," she continued
once she had resumed her sitting position. "Just doesn't make much
sense to me to try and connect to someone who'll only end up fucking
me over in one way or another."

"It's amazing," Catherine said with a smile.

"What?"

"I used to think just like that," Catherine answered. "Back when I
first started the job and Eddie and I were splitting up. Just
seemed like the world wasn't much worth living in."

"What changed?" Sara asked in between bites of her pasta.

"Lindsey," Catherine stated, her eyes meeting Sara's and holding
them for a minute. "I had to show her that there were some good,
positive things in the world. She needs to grow up in a place that
isn't so dark and vindictive. So I tried to give that to her and my
outlook just sort of changed. Even in the darkest places, there's a
glimmer of light," she paused before speaking the next words. "Most
importantly, you have to find a way to detach from the job.
Otherwise it will kill you, Sara."

They sat their looking at each other for a couple minutes. The look
on Sara's face made it evident that the gears in her head were
working overtime, searching for a way to explain to Catherine why
detachment was becoming less of an option. That she had emerged
herself so far into her work that the surface wasn't even in sight.
Sara shook her head slightly, a smile bringing her back into the
moment in which she was physically situated in. Then her face grew
dark as she attempted to confess the next words without holding back.

"I'm thinking about quitting," she said, taking a big gulp of beer.
As she placed it back down on the counter, Catherine's hand clamped
down on her wrist hard, not letting her move.

"That's not the answer," Catherine said firmly, trying to convince
Sara that was the truth.

"Why not?" Sara said loudly, pushing away from Catherine and to her
feet. She took a few steps back, still looking directly at the
woman seated at her kitchen counter. "What's the fucking point,
Catherine? All day every day we're face to face with the murderers
and rapists. The fucking pedophiles and robbers. And we don't do a
damn thing to stop them, do we?" she shouted, bracing one hand on
the counter next to the sink for support "All we do is clean up
their messes after they're done. We collect the evidence and then
what?"

"And then we put the fuckers in jail," Catherine said, getting to
her feet. "We stop them from doing it again and getting away with
it. Whether or not you can see it, we're saving people's lives by
getting these criminals off the streets," she said, coming around
the counter and walking slowly towards Sara.

"Just doesn't seem like enough," Sara replied, her voice gruff and
angry.

"What would be enough, Sara? Really?" Catherine challenged
her. "Running the streets and arresting everyone that you think is
going to commit a crime? Or going back in time, maybe, and stopping
your father from abusing you and your mother?" she asked gently,
daring to place her hands on Sara's broad shoulders.

Sara's face began to crumble, tears springing from her eyes.
Catherine pulled her forward into a strong embrace and Sara pressed
her forehead tightly onto Catherine's strong shoulder. They stood
there for an endless moment, Sara crying silently as Catherine held
onto her with all the strength she had left at that moment.

"You can't quit, Sara," Catherine whispered. "We need you. Right
now I need you," she admitted, causing Sara to pull back. Their
eyes found each other once again and Sara knew it was the truth.

"Jesus, Catherine, I'm sorry," Sara said, pulling back into herself
and feeling slightly embarrassed. "I shouldn't be acting like this…
going on about my problems when Lindsey's out there."

"Gee, and I'd gone about two seconds there without feeling
completely fucking insane about missing her and not being able to
help her," Catherine half joked.

"Shit, I can't say anything right. Kind of a plague in my life,"
Sara said averting her eyes.

"Sara, you've done more than enough already," Catherine paused,
stifling a yawn. "But I do have one more favor to ask."

"Anything."

"I really need to lie down for a couple hours. My legs aren't going
to hold me much longer."

"Oh, yeah. No problem," Sara answered and moved past Catherine into
the living area. "You take the bed, across the hall from the
bathroom. And I'm going to hang out here on the couch."

"Sara, I can't take your bed. I'll sleep on the couch," Catherine
offered, following Sara into the living room.

"No way," Sara protested. "You need sleep."

"So do you."

"I don't really sleep that much anyway. Usually I get two or three
hours tops. And I sleep on the couch. I haven't used the bedroom
in months," Sara admitted shyly.

"At all?" Catherine asked, quirking an eyebrow.

"Go. Take the bed. Don't argue with me anymore because you'll
lose," Sara commanded with a smile and pointed to the bedroom
hallway before collapsing on the couch, an arm dangling over her
eyes. She heard Catherine's boots click on the hard wood floor and
the sound of her bedroom door closing softly before she closed her
eyes and drifted into a restless sleep.


Catherine tossed and turned for an hour before deciding sleep was
not an option. She slipped out of Sara's warm bed and pulled on the
slightly oversized button down shirt she had lent her. Catherine
needed to be out in the field, following leads, or at least bullying
whoever she could get her hands on for information. In the back of
her mind, she knew she was doing everything possible to help her
daughter, but she needed to do more than that. Or at least keep
busy…at least make herself believe there was something more she
could do.

The bedroom door creaked open almost silently and Catherine carried
her shoes in her hand so they wouldn't click on the hard wood
floor. She picked up her black suit coat from the black recliner
against the wall and stopped to look at Sara's sleeping form. The
girl was amazing, truly. She was tough as nails, but on the inside
there was whole other world that she kept hidden…trapped almost, so
the outside world wouldn't get her. The more Catherine uncovered,
the more she began to like the young woman who had been working
beside her for a couple years now. The more she was finding herself
attracted to Sara, in a way that could be hazardous to them, to
their careers. Getting involved in the workplace has never been a
good idea. Still there was something inside Sara that Catherine
found herself connecting with and there was something happening
between them that they wouldn't be able to ignore much longer.

Catherine slipped on her jacket and checked her watch. Seeing that
it read just after four in the afternoon, she knew their time was
becoming scarce. In about thirty hours, Lindsey would be gone…
forever. She shuffled down the hallway, apologizing to Sara in her
mind for walking out without telling the young woman that she was
leaving. But Catherine needed to do this on her own. She needed to
feel like she was doing everything in her power to find her
daughter. And sleep was something she was just going to have to
sacrifice for a few more days. When Lindsey was home, then she
would relax. Until then, her needs would just have to wait.

Three hours later, Catherine was exhausted. She had called in every
favor she had in Vegas, visited every casino and source that she had
met in her previous career as well as the informants she had met in
her current one. And she got the same response everywhere she
went. No one knew anything. To make matter worse, her pager hadn't
gone off once. No Grissom, no Nick, no Brass, and Eddie was still
out there somewhere avoiding his responsibilities once again.

Thinking there was a possibility that she could sneak back into
Sara's apartment before she had woken up, Catherine climbed back
into the Blazer and took of in that direction. She was just pulling
up outside the apartment complex when her cell phone began ringing
furiously. She threw the car in park and flipped the phone up to
her ear.

"Willows."

"Catherine, where the hell are you?" Sara practically yelled into
the other end of the phone.

"Sara, calm down," she responded, jumping out of the truck and
running up the stairs until she was standing outside of Sara's
door. She knocked loudly.

"Do you know what time it is?"

"Around seven," Catherine said sheepishly, knowing what she had done
was wrong. She could have at least left a note. "Aren't you going
to answer the door," she added after knocking again.

"It can wait. Tell me where you are so I can meet you," Sara
demanded, frustrated. There was knocking at the door that kept
getting louder. "Just a second," she yelled at the door.

"Sara, answer the fucking door," Catherine said. "Now," she added
and clicked the phone off her ear and dropped it in her coat pocket.

"Catherine," Sara said to the dial tone. "Fuck." She hustled over
to the door and pulled it back swiftly, revealing Catherine standing
there with one hand on her hip and a slight smile on her face.

Sara stood there looking more frantic and tired than anything else.
There was also that glimmer of pissed in the way she stood with her
arms across her chest. Catherine entered the apartment and closed
the door behind her with a resounding click.

"Couldn't sleep," she offered with a crooked smile right before she
was crushed in Sara's arms.

"I was so fucking worried about you," Sara said, her arms wrapped
tightly around Catherine's waist. "I woke up and you were gone and
I didn't know what happened," she said quickly, feeling her body
start to relax.

"I know. I'm sorry," Catherine responded, her breath hot on the
crook of Sara's neck. She felt she was getting all the support she
needed at that moment in the arms of the strong woman in front of
her. She pulled back, not breaking their contact, her left hand
resting on the side of Sara's neck. There eyes met in an unspoken
truth and desire that was about to break into reality. Catherine
moved forward first, wonder and confusion lining Sara's dark eyes.

"Don't ever do that again," she warned in a firm whisper. Catherine
shook her head in agreement and pulled Sara's face down to her own.

Their lips met in a heated kiss that was about to send the two of
them into spontaneous human combustion. Their warm mouths opened
almost simultaneously, both women needing the kiss to deepen,
needing to feel something that was real and not detached. Catherine
felt her back connect firmly with the door behind her as Sara's
hands slid over the gun harnessed at her side and around her slim
waist to rest palms against the door. The hand that was resting
against Sara's neck quickly moved into her hair, Catherine squeezing
and pulling at it a bit as the kiss threatened to burn out of
control at any second. Suddenly, Sara pushed at the door with her
hands and stepped back abruptly ripping her lips off of
Catherine's. Catherine stayed glued with her back to the door
trying to assess what had just happened as Sara was trying to look
anywhere but at the person who just seconds before were drinking in
her lips hungrily.

"I'm sorry," Sara mumbled, closing her eyes and bringing a hand up
to her face. "This is the last thing you need right now."

"Actually, this is exactly what I need right now," Catherine replied
stepping forward and pulling Sara's hand down and keeping it in her
own. "As an adult I reserve the right to make my own decisions,"
she said with a smirk, reaching up with her free hand to force Sara
to look at her, "and I definitely wasn't complaining."

When she felt Sara's hand squeeze hers reflexively and her face
soften, she pulled the dark-haired woman to her once again. This
time their lips met slowly, teasing at first, sliding against each
other with ease. Catherine guided Sara's hands behind her to rest
at the small of her back and pressed herself flush against the tall
woman. Sliding one hand behind Sara's neck, Catherine pulled her in
even further as her tongue slid against willing lips that opened
quickly and were more than inviting. They were just getting
acquainted with each other when a loud ringing forced them apart.

"That's probably Grissom," Sara breathed, reluctant to remove her
arms from around Catherine. "Nobody else ever calls my home number."

"I think that's about to change," Catherine said smiling as she
stepped out of Sara's embrace, already feeling the warmth of her
body subsiding. "Maybe he actually has a lead," she added with
hopeful eyes. Sara walked over to the kitchen counter with long,
even strides and answered the phone on the third ring.

"Hello?"

"Sara, it's Grissom. How's Catherine holding up?"

"She's doing her best. She's asleep right now," Sara answered,
wincing at her lie.

"Good, but you're going to have to wake her up," Grissom replied
through the phone. "Warrick's back and I think we have our first
concrete lead."

"That's great," Sara said, her eyes lighting up and looking back to
Catherine who was walking towards her with questioning eyes. Sara
held up her index finger to indicate she'd tell her in a minute.

"Yeah, so get down to the crime lab and we'll go from there."

Sara clicked off the phone and gave the good news to Catherine.
Seconds later, after Sara had grabbed her jacket and other uniform
necessities, they were in the truck and on their way to headquarters
for their subsequent briefing.

***********************

When they arrived at the crime lab, Catherine was walking so fast
down the corridors that Sara, even with her mile long legs, was
having trouble keeping up. Catherine wanted to jump on this lead as
fast as humanly possible so she could have her daughter back before
bedtime. The three CSIs along with Greg were sitting around the
break table having a much needed caffeine boost. Greg was saying
something about it being eighty bucks a pound or something as Sara
and Catherine entered the room to have four pairs of eyes
immediately turn to them. Warrick got up in one swift motion and
pulled Catherine into a warm, secure hug.

"Hey," she said, trying to hold back tears that seemed to want to
come out every two minutes.

"Hey," he said pulling back, hazel eyes searching her blue
ones. "How are you?"

"Hanging in," she answered and quickly changed the subject. "How's
your trip?"

"Good, although I wish someone had called me sooner," he said, eyes
flicking back to Nick and then Grissom.

"Still, I hear we have you to thank for this lead," Sara said from
behind Catherine. "Better late than never, right?" she added with a
smile. Warrick's eyes lit up a bit and he nodded in response,
Sara's point getting across.

"Gris told me about the ring this Mitchell guy was wearing. There's
only one guy in Vegas that hands those things out to his lackeys,"
Warrick stated, looking around the room at everyone's eyes on
him. "Ruby Ritchie Scarpelli."

"How'd…"

"Nick, before you finish that question, use that mushy thing inside
your cranium for a second," Warrick warned in a slightly amused tone.

"Scarpelli?" Grissom said in wonder. "I thought he got locked up a
few years ago."

"That was Ray Scarpelli, Ritchie's brother," Warrick answered.

"What's with the Ruby thing?" Greg asked.

"Something about it being their mother's birthstone. Anyway, he
runs his gig mostly out of Caesar's Palace, but recently he's taken
over dealings at the Taj Mahal too," Warrick explained, looking back
to Catherine. Her face was lit up with promise and hope.

"Right near Mitchell's motel," Grissom stated.

"So what are we waiting for?" Catherine asked, ready to get moving.

"This guy's not exactly small potatoes, Cath," Warrick challenged
her.

"She's my daughter," she answered simply.

"How do we know he's going to be there anyway?" Sara asked. "If
he's such a big deal wouldn't he have someone else doing his work
for him?"

"Nah, he's the kind of guy who likes to get his hands dirty,"
Warrick answered, further confirming their course of action.

"Then let's go right to the top," Catherine said, turning. Sara
stepped out of her way and followed behind her, the rest of the gang
right at their heels.

"What about me?" Greg called after them.

"Stay here in case Brass calls with any info," Grissom called over
his shoulder at the young man who slumped back into his chair with a
thud.

***********************

"Shouldn't we have called Brass?" Nick asked as the whole team piled
out of two trucks and made their way into the lobby of the Taj Mahal.

"I did," Grissom replied. "We decided it would be better if we went
in their just as the crime lab and not actual Vegas PD. Gangsters
tend to freeze up around law enforcement."

"And what are we?" Nick asked.

"Science nerds," Grissom answered with a smirk. "So, Warrick, where
to?"

"This way," he answered, pointing to the bar and walking over their
swiftly. "You guys hang back a sec."

The rest of the team stayed back as Warrick walked over to the bar
and began conversing with the bartender, a short Spanish guy with
messy hair. Their conversation seemed to get more heated and ended
with Warrick reaching across the bar and pulling the short man to
him by his shirtfront. With fear evident in his eyes, the young man
pulled something from his pocket and slipped it into Warrick's hand
before he made his way back to his friends. He motioned for them to
follow him and they all ended up in the elevator.

"Where are we going?" Catherine asked, unbuttoning her jacket and
placing her hand near her weapon.

"To the top," Warrick answered as he inserted a key into the
penthouse slot and turned it.

The doors opened to an elaborate lobby and two large men with
earpieces guarding the actual door to the penthouse suite. Warrick
stepped out first, most comfortable and knowledgeable in the
underground world of gambling and organized crime. The remaining
four CSIs followed a step or two behind him looking around for clues
or danger. Catherine kept her hand near her gun, more than willing
to use it at this point. Warrick flashed his badge at the muscle in
front of him.

"Las Vegas Crime Lab," he said. "We need to talk to Mr. Scarpelli
for a minute or two."

"In regards to what?"

"An outstanding debt," Warrick answered flatly.

"Just a second."

The man on the left continued to watch the group while the man on
the right pressed down in his pocket and carried on a one-sided
conversation with someone. He reached behind him, nodded, and
opened the door to let the team enter the suite. Once inside, he
followed behind them and herded them into the living room where a
middle-aged man with dark hair was watching baseball on a big screen
TV wearing a three piece pin-striped suit. He took the cigar out of
his mouth long enough to flash his Ruby ring and greet his visitors.

"Good evening, gentlemen," he said in a gruff voice, "and ladies,"
he added when he caught sight of Catherine and Sara. "Mr. Brown,
what's this I hear about an outstanding debt? I was sure you'd
given up on the game."

"I have, Ritchie," he answered. "We're here on entirely different
business."

"What is it that I can do for you?" Scarpelli asked, resting his
cigar on the edge of his ashtray and offering his guests a seat.
They all remained standing.

"Mr. Scarpelli, we're inquiring about your dealings with Eddie
Willows," Grissom said, playing with the rim of his glasses.

"Eddie, sure. He's one of my most frequent customers."

"We hear he's into you for quite a bit of money."

"He lost quite a bit of a bet," Scarpelli answered, keeping
conversation light.

"And what exactly happens if he can't come up with the cash?"
Warrick interjected.

"Ah, I think you know what happens, Mr. Brown."

"Yes, but there's a little something extra special about this case,
isn't there Mr. Scarpelli?" Grissom asked, raising an eyebrow.
Catherine was about to explode when she felt Sara's hand on her
shoulder. She turned back for a minute noticing that Sara too had
her hand on her weapon and one eye on the muscle still situated in
the corner of the room.

"Bruno, leave us," Scarpelli said to his bodyguard in a loud voice.
Once the door was closed he turned back to Grissom. "I'd be happy
to answer any questions you have after you've produced a warrant and
I've contacted my lawyer."

"It's funny you mention that because that's exactly what Remo
Mitchell said before we carted his ass downtown and tore apart his
motel room," Nick said, stepping forward. "We've got him primed to
roll over on you any second now."

"I'm sure I have no idea what you're talking about."

"He's gonna squeal like a pig and then you're going down, pal."

"You might want to watch your tone of voice in this room, my
friend," Scarpelli warned. "Do you have any idea who you're fucking
with?"

"I do," Catherine finally spoke, moving out of Sara's
reach. "You're the sick bastard that's got my daughter."

"Now, now. I had no idea Eddie was married to such a fine piece of
ass. Didn't you used to dance down the strip?" Scarpelli teased
with a smile and a glimmer in his eye.

"Watch your fucking mouth, asshole," Sara warned from her stance
near the door.

"Ooh, I like `em feisty. Bet you're the kind of girl that likes it
rough."

Catherine ripped her gun out of its holster and had it pressed to
Scarpelli's forehead in a matter of seconds. All eyes in the room
went wide and Warrick began moving towards her.

"Tell me where my daughter is or I'll blow the back side of your
head all over this nice white couch," Catherine said in a low,
dangerous voice.

Scarpelli just smiled and seconds later, Bruno and his pal came
bursting through the door. Sara found herself at the end of a
twenty-two before she could even get her hand near her weapon. She
raised her hands instinctively and locked eyes with Grissom. She
wasn't scared as much as she was hoping Catherine would get the
information she needed. The other of Scarpelli's men had his gun
leveled at Catherine, who didn't look to be backing down anytime
soon.

"Might want to drop that gun now, little lady. Before Bruno empties
his gun into your friend over there," Scarpelli suggested, still
sitting back comfortably. This wasn't the first time he had a gun
pointed to his head.

"Sara, you okay?" Catherine shouted without moving, her hand not
wavering.

"Not a problem, Catherine. Don't you dare leave this room without
getting what we came for," Sara answered with a smug smile.

"Shut her up, Bruno," Scarpelli ordered.

Sara felt a left fist to her already wounded temple before she even
saw it coming. She careened into the wall for support as Nick and
Grissom pulled their guns and Catherine pressed hers harder into
Scarpelli's head. Sara felt her wound open and blood once again
trickling under the bandage and slowly moving down the side of her
face.

"Look's like we've got an old-fashioned Mexican standoff here,"
Scarpelli commented.

"Where is she?" Catherine demanded through clenched teeth.

"I assure you she's safe. As long as Eddie gets me my money by
tomorrow at six pm, she'll be returned to you in the same condition
she was in when he handed her over to us," Scarpelli answered
coolly. "Otherwise, I'm sure there's someone out there who wouldn't
mind taking on Eddie's debt in return for her company."

That's what pushed Catherine over the edge. Her finger wavered on
the trigger for a moment before she pulled her hand back and cold-
cocked him on the side of the head with the cold metal of her gun.
Scarpelli's head snapped to the right and he wiped some blood of the
new wound.

"Catherine," Grissom yelled a warning as the two bodyguards had
their guns cocked and ready to fire. Scarpelli held up a hand to
stop them.

"First one's free," Scarpelli warned Catherine, his dark eyes
burning into her own. "If you'll excuse me, I have business to
attend to."

"We'll be back," Grissom warned as he grabbed Catherine by the arm
and dragged her out of the room and into the elevator. Sara
stumbled in after them, bracing herself of Warrick's arm for a
minute, Nick squeezing in behind them.

"I'll hold my breath," Scarpelli called after them, his smile never
wavering.

"What the hell were you thinking back there?" Grissom asked, once
the doors were closed.

"I'm trying to save my daughter, Grissom, and we're getting
nowhere," Catherine replied harshly. "He knows where she is and
there's nothing we can do to get him to tell us where he's got her."

"We'll call Brass. We'll come back with a warrant," he answered her
gently.

"How much more time are we going to waste when Lindsey could be
locked in a dark room anywhere with God knows who doing God knows
what to her," Catherine shouted.

"There's not much more we can do right now, Catherine," Grissom said
sympathetically.

"There has to be something else we can do," Catherine
pleaded. "There has to be."

"Actually, there's something I may be able to do," Warrick
interrupted. "You guys head back to the lab and get in touch with
Brass. See if Mitchell rolled over on Scarpelli yet. There are a
couple favors I can call in."

"I'm going with you," Catherine stated.

"No, you're not. If these guys smell cop they'll clam up faster
than you can say information," Warrick replied.

"You're a cop."

"I'm a cop that they owe a debt to. On the street, your word is all
you've got," he answered as the elevator dinged and hit the lobby
area.

Warrick disappeared into the crowd quickly. Catherine sighed and
looked back to where Sara was propped up against the metal railing
of the elevator, one hand pressed to her head.

"Shit, Sara, are you okay?" Catherine asked in a concerned tone,
reaching over to the young woman in the corner of the elevator.

"What? No, yeah I'm fine," Sara replied shaking her head. "I just
seem to have hit me tattooed on my forehead today," she added with a
small laugh.

"Come on," Catherine instructed, grabbing Sara's hand and pulling
her toward the bathroom. "We'll meet you guys outside," she said to
Nick and Grissom over her shoulder.

Sara entered the bathroom first and was happy that it was empty.
She was washing the blood off her face in front of one of the
mirrors when she saw Catherine close and lock the bathroom door from
the inside out the corner of her eye. She only had time to be
puzzled for about a second before Catherine had advanced on her and
had her pinned up against the far wall. Sara felt her shirt being
tugged out from her pants and Catherine's hands cold against her
bare skin, lips attacking her with an urgency that she didn't quite
understand. She managed to pull back for a second to look into
Catherine's dark and teary eyes.

"I need to feel something right now," Catherine said, quietly, her
hands gripping the loose shirttails with tight fists.

Sara only nodded slightly in understanding before she grabbed
Catherine on either side of her waist and sat the smaller woman down
on the marble countertop next to the sinks. She used her left leg
to push Catherine's knees apart gently before leaning forward and
crushing her lips against forceful ones that pushed back in
response. Sara slid her hands inside Catherine's jacket and
dislodged the gun at her side in one quick movement, dropping it
onto the counter with a loud clang that neither of them seemed to
hear. She trailed kissed down the side of Catherine's neck while
her hands pulled apart the button of her black pants and tugged out
the oversized shirt that she had lent her earlier that day.

Sara heard a soft moan and felt Catherine's breath hot and moist on
her collarbone as she slid a hand between them and into the blonde-
haired woman's pants quickly searching out her destination and
slipping into it easily. It didn't take long before Catherine's
hands were wrapped tightly on either side of Sara's neck as the
young woman brought her into her final release. Sara held onto her
as she came down slowly and cried silently into her shoulder. Sara
pulled back to look at her and was confused at the tears in her eyes.

"Did I hurt you?" she asked, brushing a hand over Catherine's cheek.

"No," Catherine answered, leaning into Sara's hand. "I'm sorry.
It's just that everything is so overwhelming right now and I think
this finally brought me back to the reality of it all."

"I understand," Sara replied, looking down slightly.

"You were great," Catherine added as she pressed forward to place a
kiss on Sara's lips. "But I think we should get out there before
Grissom and Nick start wondering where we are," she added, sliding
forward to her feet and collecting her things. When she finally had
her pants buttoned and her jacket back on, she turned to Sara to
examine her wound.

"Does it hurt?" she asked as she wiped at the reopened and bruising
gash with a wet paper towel.

"Not at all," Sara said with a smile as she reached up to catch
Catherine's hand in her own.


"Where have you guys been?" Grissom asked as the two women emerged
from the casino and met up with the two men at the one truck Warrick
had left them.

"Having sex on the counter in the bathroom," Catherine said with a
smile and a wink as Sara turned twelve shades of red.

"Yeah, right," Nick commented as they all piled into the Blazer.

***********************

Three blocks down the strip, Catherine spotted an all too familiar
face making his way out of one of the smaller casinos and onto the
sidewalk. Her heart began racing as she put a hand against the cool
window beside her. She turned to Nick, who was driving, and spoke
quickly.

"Pull over. That's Eddie."

"What? Where?" Grissom asked from the backseat.

"Over there," she said pointing. "Pull over, Nick. Now."

Once Nick had pulled the Blazer to the sidewalk and was parked
illegally, Catherine wasted no time exiting the vehicle. Grissom
followed her in the direction Eddie was walking away and called to
Nick and Sara to stay in the car. Catherine quickened her pace
until she was only inches away from her ex. She reached up and
grabbed at his shoulder, spinning him around to face her.

"What the fuck?" he shouted before his eyes fell on the woman in
front of him. He couldn't think of a thing to say to Catherine.

"Cat got your tongue, Eddie?" she asked as Grissom stopped short
behind her. "So you going to come with us willingly or do I have to
man handle you into cuffs?"

"Fuck, Catherine, I'm out here trying to get the money. If you lock
me up how am I going to pay off Scarpelli?"

"You knew right from the beginning who we should have been going
after and you pretended like you didn't know anything?" Catherine
shouted in disbelief. "And you gave them our daughter to get
yourself more time? Yeah, Eddie. I know about that. What kind of
man are you?"

"Fuck you, Catherine," he replied with a scowl.

"Not in this lifetime," she answered. "Do you know where she is
too, Eddie? Is this all part of your little deal?"

"No, Catherine. Jesus. I know I fucked up but she's my daughter
too," he pleaded with her.

"Cry me a fucking river, you bastard," she said before motioning to
Grissom to call Brass.

"Brass, it's Grissom. We've got Eddie Willows in custody. Can you
send a patrol car over to take him down to the station? Good.
Thanks." He clicked off the phone with a snap.

"I want you to know you're signing my death warrant, Catherine,"
Eddie stated with fearful eyes.

"You did that all by yourself, Eddie," she replied. "And you better
pray to God that we find Lindsey before she's hurt or I'll kill you
myself."

***********************

Warrick had been to two of his informants already that led him to
where he was now. He took a quick right down a dark, wet alleyway
and searched out the blackness with his eyes until he spotted the
man he was intent on seeing. He walked over to a short man wearing
a leather jacket and a hat pulled down sheltering his eyes.

"Bennie, I hear you're the man in the know," he said as he caught
the short man's attention.

"Warrick, what can I do for you?" he asked nervously, pulling his
coat together tightly.

"I'm not here to bust you, Bennie, so chill," Warrick assured the
man. "I'm looking to find out about a young girl about to hit the
streets. Worth about two hundred Gs."

"Which one?" Bennie asked with a laugh.

"What?"

"Which young girl you lookin' for? There's dozens out here primed
for sale. And I'm not talkin' about fifteen year olds. Little
girls, man. Doesn't do a thing for me, but obviously some slugs in
this city are interested."

"I need to know where they are, Bennie," Warrick said in a harsh
tone.

"And what do I get out of this little deal? My ass is fucked if I
tell you anything else. One good pop to the head and I'm all done
and no one's gonna give two shits that I'm not tickin' anymore,"
Bennie replied with fear in his voice.

"You got a hearing for possession next week, don't you? Three
strikes and you're gone, right?"

"Yeah."

"Not anymore," Warrick said. "I just acquitted you. Now talk."

"Okay, okay. Word on the streets is that Scarpelli's got some major
operation going on. The big guys in this town realized that
gambling and drugs weren't the only things that carried a pretty big
street value," Bennie said in a hushed voice. "There's this guy,
Mitchell, real asshole. If you ain't got the cash, he offers you
another deal. Boys, girls, whatever. Then he collects the kids and
takes `em down to a safe house where they can stay until Scarpelli
gets an offer he likes for `em."

"Where's this safe house?"

"It's down past the strip. Scarpelli owns a building with lots of
open apartment space. Like empty floors and stuff," Bennie
explained. "Rumor has it that he keeps the kids there in like a rec
room. There's toys and TVs and stuff so they won't feel scared."

"I need an address, Bennie."

"I think it's over on Rockford Ave. I don't know the exact number
or anything."

"Thanks, Bennie," Warrick said and turned to walk back the street.

"Hey, anything I can do to help," Bennie called after him. "You ask
me, that shit's just not right."

"Yeah, all this coming from a dealer," Warrick said under his breath
as he flipped his phone open and emerged back on the street.

"Crime Lab, DNA," Greg said, answering the phone on the first ring.

"Greg, it's Warrick."

"Hey, buddy. What's up?"

"Is the team back yet?"

"Nada, bro," Greg answered coolly.

"Listen, I need you to call downtown to Captain Brass and tell him
to check on properties owned by Ritchie Scarpelli or any of his
associates down near Rockford Ave," Warrick instructed the young lab
tech. "Tell him I told you to call and to page all of us when he
gets an address."

"Check. Scarpelli. Rockford Ave," Greg repeated.

"When Grissom and the team get back, tell them what you did and that
I'm on my way over to Rockford to check out things myself."

"Is that where they've got Lindsey?" Greg asked.

"Could be," Warrick answered. "Could be."

***********************

Warrick was parked about halfway down Rockford Ave. on the right
side. It wasn't a high class neighborhood, but it wasn't a slum
either. He'd been waiting for over an hour when a dark Cadillac
pulled up outside one of the buildings and two guys in suits stepped
out holding hands with a young boy. They made their way into the
building and Warrick had his hand on his cell phone when it rang
first.

"Warrick," he said flipping the phone up to his ear.

"It's Brass. I finally have an address for you."

"Lemme guess. Six forty-two, right?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?"

"I just watched two tons of muscle bring a kid in there," Warrick
answered. "You talk to Grissom yet?"

"They should be there in a couple minutes. Don't do anything until
Grissom gets there with backup."

"Check, boss."

"I'm on my way," Brass said and then the phone clicked off.

Warrick kept his eyes glued on the rearview mirror, his left hand
drumming impatiently on the dashboard, when he saw two blue Chevy
Blazers come barreling down the street behind him. He jumped out
quickly and motioned for them to stop a ways up the street so as not
to arouse suspicion. One by one, Catherine, Grissom, Nick, and Sara
piled out of the cars and were followed by a handful of uniforms and
higher ranked inspectors.

"The one with the car?" Catherine asked breathless.

"The one with the car," Warrick confirmed and turned his eyes to
Grissom for instructions.

"Nick and I will go up first. Catherine and Warrick, you two follow
us a few feet behind. Sara, you're already hurt enough. You hang
back and wait for Brass," he said handing out assignments.

"Grissom," Sara began to protest.

"There's no time for this, Sara. The last thing we need is for
someone to take another shot at your head," Grissom commanded.

"Wait for Brass," Catherine said quietly, turning to catch Sara's
eyes for a moment.

"You guys wait about a minute and come up after us," Grissom said to
the Vegas PD officers that were standing behind his
team. "Everyone, be careful."

"Let's do this," Catherine said as they began walking towards the
apartment building.

The driver of the Cadillac had already surmised that something not
so good was about to happen and was attempting to exit the vehicle
and run upstairs to warn his cohorts. Warrick sped forward and
called for Sara to follow him. She took off in his direction and
had no trouble keeping up.

"Vegas PD. Freeze," Warrick yelled at the retreating man as he
leveled his gun in two hands. The man looked back at the officers
just yards away and turned back to take a few more steps forward.

"Don't fucking move," Sara yelled, her gun held in a similar fashion
to Warrick's. "One more step and I will shoot you and ten other
officers will testify that I capped your ass in self defense."

This caused the man to stop, put his hands in the air, and turn
around to surrender. Sara quickly holstered her gun and pulled out
her cuffs, slapping them around the man's wrists and making sure it
would leave a mark. As the rest of the crew busted in the front
door and entered the building, Sara put the man back into the
passenger seat of his car and removed the keys, dropping them on the
hood of the car with a clang. She then leaned up against the front
of the car and waited for the Captain to arrive.

Two floors up, Grissom and Nick arrived in front of a steel door.
Getting closer they could hear a commotion of children's and adult's
voiced wafting into the hallway. Nick nodded to Grissom, confirming
that they were in the right place and motioned for Grissom to cover
him on the right side of the door. Once Grissom was in place and
Catherine and Warrick were flanked on either side of the stairwell,
Nick pulled back and kicked hard at the door inches to the right of
the doorknob. With all his muscles and strength behind his action,
the door flew open and Nick jumped to the left side of the door.

"Vegas PD," Warrick shouted, advancing on the open door with his gun
raised firmly. "Everyone on the ground. Now!"

Nick and Grissom followed him in hard. Catherine was frozen where
she stood, hoping her daughter would be there…that she would be
okay. The rest of the uniforms pushed past her and into the
apartment behind the three other men, guns raised in defense.

The two men Warrick had seen walking into the building minutes
earlier made an attempt to reach for their guns, but upon seeing the
full arsenal that was standing before them they instead dropped to
the floor and put their hands out flat above their heads. Three
more men that were sitting around a table smoking cigars and playing
cards also hit the floor quickly, arms raised in surrender. The
uniformed cops went to each of the criminals and patted them down
before cuffing them and raising them to their knees.

Grissom led his two CSIs down a narrow hallway and into a large room
that looked much like an indoor playground. There were about two
dozen kids playing with trucks and dolls. Some were coloring while
others watching videos in another corner of the room. Nick's jaw
clenched tight when he saw the sheer volume of the operation they
had just managed to thwart. Warrick along with Grissom searched the
room with his eyes trying to locate Lindsey and they had about given
up when a familiar voice came at their backs in a hurried tone.

"Linds," Catherine called out for her daughter as she pushed past
the three men and into the playroom. "Lindsey," she said as her
eyes finally fell upon a little blonde girl who had then looked up
from the book she was reading by herself in the far corner of the
room.

"Mommy," the little girl shouted as she jumped to her feet and
rushed into her mother's arms. She clung tightly to Catherine and
cried nervous tears.

"Let me look at you," Catherine said, shedding tears of her own, as
she pulled back to examine her daughter. The little girl seemed to
be okay physically. "Are you okay, baby? Did anybody hurt you?"

Lindsey shook her head `no' and Catherine picked her up and hustled
her out of the apartment and down to the waiting rescue vehicles in
the street below. Warrick and Nick made sure that the rest of the
kids made it out of the building all right and they were all taken
to the nearest hospital for full exams. Catherine insisted on going
with Lindsey and no one protested. Brass briefed Grissom about what
charges would ultimately be put on the men residing in the apartment
unit after he had made sure that his own team had taken the culprits
down to the station.


Two hours later, Warrick rode the elevator up to the penthouse suite
of the Taj Mahal and had no problem getting in to see Ritchie
Scarpelli. The man rose when Warrick entered and greeted him with a
handshake.

"Mr. Brown, come back to make a bet directly with the top dog?" he
asked, eyes lighting up when he smiled.

"Actually I came to tell you to mark Eddie Willow's debt paid in
full," Warrick replied, pulling his sunglasses off his ears.

"And why would I want to do that?"

"Because then you might actually get out of prison one day," Warrick
answered as the door to the suite opened again and Sara emerged with
two Las Vegas Police officers at her sides. Scarpelli's smile
dropped off his face as his hands began to shake.

"Ricardo Scarpelli, you're under arrest for kidnapping, illegal
gambling and a whole lot of other stuff that will be explained to
you down at central booking," Sara said with a smile as she grabbed
the man by the upper arm and violently threw him face down into the
couch. With a knee pressed sharply in between his shoulder blades,
Sara snapped the handcuffs onto Scarpelli's wrists and made sure
they were too tight.

"I guess you'd be the one who likes it rough, huh asshole?" She said
as she walked away and let the other officers pick him and lead him
out of the room.

"I'll be out in less than an hour," Scarpelli said, stopping to turn
and look at Warrick and Sara.

"I wouldn't count on it," Warrick replied. "Five guys down at the
station already confessed to everything and named you as the guy in
charge."

"Not to mention everything else Remo Mitchell decided to let us in
on that has absolutely nothing to do with this case," Sara
added. "Hope you like community showers," she said with a smile as
Scarpelli's face dropped once again and he was pulled towards the
elevator. The two CSIs were on their way out of the building when
Warrick's cell phone rang.

"Warrick. What? When? Yeah, LVPD just carted his ugly ass away.
Yeah, see you back at the lab."

"Who was that? What's going on?" Sara asked.

"That was Nick," Warrick answered. "They released Eddie a couple
hours ago and he just ended up in the emergency room of Las Vegas
Memorial. Someone beat him within an inch of his life."

"He gonna pull through?"

"Nick said he's in ICU, but he's stable," Warrick
said. "Catherine's on her way over there now. Grissom wants us
back in the lab before we call it a night."

Sara nodded and exhaled deeply. The drama of the past two days had
finally come to an end. But what had really happened between her
and Catherine? And why was Catherine with Eddie in the hospital?

***********************

A few hours later, Sara was finally back at her apartment. She was
tired, as usual, but the last few days had reminded her that the
work she was doing was important. Twenty kids were back with their
families or in state's custody. But at least they weren't being
abused at the hands of sadists. She was just sitting down on the
couch and clicking on the TV when a knock at the door startled her.

"Who is it?" she called, getting to her feet.

"Singing telegram," Catherine called through the door.

"It's open," Sara said with a smile walking towards the door as it
opened and a seven year old lightning bolt came flying at her.

"Sara, Sara," Lindsey shouted as Sara knelt down and folded the
young girl in her arms.

"How are you doing, kiddo?" Sara asked, squeezing Lindsey in a
playful hug.

"Good," the little girl replied, pulling back. "Mommy said she'd
take me for ice cream later."

"Yeah?" Sara said, raising an eyebrow and looking up to see
Catherine closing the door behind her. "I wish your mom would take
me for ice cream," she added as Catherine turned around and gave
Sara one of her stunning smiles.

"Lindsey, honey, why don't you go watch TV for a minute while I talk
to Sara," Catherine suggested.

"Yeah, I think the Rugrats are on right about now," Sara played
along as she led the girl over to the couch and flipped the channel
for her. She then made her way to the kitchen where Catherine was
waiting for her, out of sight and sound range from Lindsey.

"So, how is she really?" Sara asked once they were alone.

"She's good considering. She really doesn't know what happened and
I think that may be best," Catherine answered, resting a hand on her
hip as she spoke.

"And her exam?"

"She's fine. So are all the other kids."

"Good," Sara replied, rocking on her heels and biting her lip
nervously.

"So, about what happened…"

"Hey, don't even worry about it," Sara interrupted her. "There was
a lot going on and you needed someone…or something and I was
convenient so I don't want you to feel like you need to explain
anything to me."

"Really?" Catherine said in disbelief, taking a step forward and
invading Sara's personal space.

"No, not really."

"Good, because you're a terrible liar," Catherine said with a smile.

"That may be, but if you come any closer I don't know if I'll be
able to control myself," Sara said, reaching out to grab the bottom
of Catherine's jacket and pull her in further.

"Don't worry. I've got cuffs," Catherine replied before leaning
forward and kissing Sara slowly and thoroughly.

"So," Catherine breathed, pulling back slightly but slipping her
hands inside Sara's open shirt to rest on either side of her tank
top.

"Yeah," Sara answered, gripping the leather between her fingers more
tightly.

"I've got the rest of the week off so I can spend time with Lindsey,
but I'll be back at work on Monday and I was thinking maybe we could
get some breakfast after our shift ends," Catherine suggested,
pulling at the material under her fingers.

"I know just the place," Sara replied with a smile that lit up her
eyes.

"You're not going to take me to that place where I dropped the
finger in front of you, are you?" Catherine teased, making a face.

"You'll see," was Sara's only reply.

"Listen, we have to get going. I'm taking Lindsey to see Eddie in
the hospital and then I promised to take her to the zoo," Catherine
said, reluctantly breaking the mood. She felt Sara tense at the
mention of Eddie's name and start to pull away but she tightened her
grip on the taller woman's body not letting her escape.

"You're taking her to see that bastard," Sara said in disbelief.

"I'm taking her to say goodbye to her father," Catherine explained
in a soft voice, forcing Sara to meet her eyes. "Once Eddie can
walk, he'll be out of Vegas so fast it won't even be funny. I know
I don't owe him a damn thing, but that girl deserves to see her
father one last time."

"You're a much better person than me, Catherine," Sara admitted.

"Nah, I just know what it's like to grow up without a father,"
Catherine said honestly, sadness lining her eyes. "But if I were
you, I'd answer that phone later on. And try to get some sleep
because I guarantee you're going to need it," she added, kissing
Sara once more before taking a step back.

"Lindsey. Come on, kiddo," Catherine called into the other room.

"Okay, mom."

Before Lindsey could make her way off the couch, Sara swiftly
stepped forward and crushed her lips against Catherine's in a
passionate kiss that promised things that neither woman had never
even imagined. She slid a hand into Catherine's hair and pulled her
close Sara's mouth just centimeters away from the shorter woman's
ear.

"Catherine, I think I'm falling in love with you," she whispered in
a husky voice before pulling back and acknowledging the young girl
that was just entering the kitchen. "So I hear you're going to the
zoo later."

"Yeah, you wanna come," Lindsey said stepping towards her
mother. "Mommy, can Sara come?"

"I don't know," Catherine answered, flashing a seductive smile at
Sara. "Can Sara come?" she asked.

"Please Sara, please," Lindsey whined.

"Only if you promise to protect me from the lions," Sara teased
Lindsey with a fake scared face.

"I will, I promise," Lindsey said with a huge grin.

"Then it's decided. Why don't you and your mom pick me up after you
go visit your Daddy," Sara suggested, looking into Catherine's
glowing face. "I'm going to take a nap… in my bed even. Need to
keep up my strength," she added with a wink, seeing the blood rush
to Catherine's face and smiling.

"Okay, bye Sara," Lindsey squealed as she rushed forward to hug her
hip.

"Bye, pumpkin. I'll see you in a bit," Sara replied as Lindsey
stepped back and pulled at her mother's hand leading them into the
hallway.

"Better keep that bed warm," Catherine said with a shy grin,
reaching out to slide her hand in and out of Sara's before following
her daughter into the hallway. "We'll be back before you know it,"
she promised.

"I'll be waiting," Sara said and then whispered so low Catherine
wasn't sure if the younger woman had spoken at all, "always."
Catherine nodded and smiled so wide it reached her eyes. Seemed
like both their walls were slowly crumbling.


Sara lay down in her bed a few minutes after they had gone. It was
unfamiliar in that she hadn't slept in its fluffy confines for the
better part of a year. But it was also familiar when Sara rolled
over and still smelled Catherine on her sheets. She knew she had to
be up in a few hours, but that didn't bother her. For the first
time in months, Sara fell into a sound sleep the only thoughts
floating in her head were an anticipation of what tomorrow would
bring.

END.

• Main CSI page
• The new stories
• Gil/Greg stories
• Gil/Nick stories
• Gil/Warrick stories
• Nick/Greg stories
• Nick/Warrick stories
• Greg/Warrick stories
• Nick/Bobby stories
• Jim Brass stories
• David Hodges stories
• CSI: New York stories
• CSI: Miami stories
• Other pairings & threesomes
• Gen CSI stories
• CSI: Crime Scene Investigation - The Eighth Season